


I am Prince Vegeta

by Mmfox67



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama & Romance, F/M, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2019-10-07 03:18:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17357927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mmfox67/pseuds/Mmfox67
Summary: Planet Vegeta is still intact, and Freiza is still a threat to the saiyjins. Hearing about the survival of a Saiyjin that has yet to be influenced gives Prince Vegeta some hope. He has decided to locate Kakarot son of Bardock in hopes of assembling a powerful enough team to take down the Freiza force.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so a scene i am writing for another fic inspired this series. I really wanted to do a GokuXVegeta thing but i could never really see Vegeta being unfaithful so it came to this. I hope you like it. Just an FYI these stories are gonna be really weird and dramatic and explicit because...i like it...so....enjoy

Bardock held his wife close as they watched their youngest child leave them. He was still young maybe he could forget and move on to live a happy life. She cried, but they knew it was for the best. Freiza had been threatening their king more lately, and Bardock had heard rumor of his destroying them all. He couldn’t die knowing he didn’t do everything to save his children first. He held his wife close calming her as she cried. She was a revered warrior, she should not be shedding tears. Bardock watched the ship disappear into the night sky and said his goodbyes to all the things that had made him a person. Coldness set in as he struggled to accept that he would never see Kakarot grow into a man. His gaze shifted to King Vegeta’s palace. If their king were not such a coward then nobody would have to feel this pain.

 

The young prince slipped down the hall, avoiding all other signs of life. It was late, and visitors at this hour were nothing if not suspicious. Vegeta had seen the strangers land in the ship bay. Well most of them were strangers. He had seen two of them before and he recognized them as the Destroyer God Beerus and his attendant Whis. A few years before Freeiza had landed on their planet this God had come and threatened his father. These events taught Vegeta that his father was a coward, and he was determined to never be that. He would be strong and courageous. He would defend his people in ways his father had never bothered trying.  
Vegeta followed the strangers to Freeiza’s meeting chamber, but he was unable to slip in behind them. Vegeta muttered a foul word before ever so slightly cracking the door, just enough so he could hear. From the tone in Freeiza’s voice Vegeta could tell he was not particularly happy to see the visitors.  
“What is the meaning of this?” Freeiza asked. “And who are you?”  
“I am the Supreme Kai.” One of the strangers must have responded. But Vegeta knew if he opened the door to see which he would be discovered and punished severely.  
The Supreme Kai, that meant that there were at least two people in the room that had the rank of God. Why were they here? Were they planning on stopping Freeiza’s domination of this side of the universe? He dare not hope, gods were not kind to mortals.  
“We’ve come to stop you.” Vegeta recognized the voice as that of the destroyer god.  
“What do you mean stop me from what?” Freeiza responded.  
“We can’t let you destroy planet Vegeta.” The Kai responded.  
“Excuse me?” Freeiza’s voice grew louder and higher as he became upset.  
“Unfortunately, it would have too large of an impact on the universe as a whole.” Beerus said, it seemed he really disliked this turn of events as well. “If you destroy them there will be no buffer for the undeveloped planets to develop.”  
“You’re a destroyer why do you even care?” Freeiza was obviously belligerent at this point.  
“Because our job is to keep balance in the universe Freeiza.” The Kai responded. “That means being selective about what we do and do not destroy. It is my job to nourish life in the universe and after much research it has been concluded that the death of the Saiyjin race would be far too detrimental to the growth of the universe.”  
“Well perhaps if I kill you we can make it work.” Freeiza threatened.  
“And then comes the reason why I am here.” Beerus said lazily. “If you even try to disobey our orders I will kill you.”  
“We are done here let’s go.” A new voice said, from much closer to the door than he had expected.  
The door opened. Vegeta’s stomach dropped and he landed on his rear. Fill feared his small body, never in his short life had he felt death was so close. The door slid sideways just enough for the tall figure to be revealed. The white haired man did not seem to be surprised to see him. Whis’ slender face was adorned with a secretive smile. He had known Vegeta was there the whole time, he must have picked up on their follower immediately. But something about the others smile reassured him that he was not dead yet.  
“But we haven’t eaten yet!” Beerus complained.  
“We can stop somewhere on the way back.” Whis said still keeping Vegeta pinned in place with only a glance. “Right now it’s probably best if we go.”  
It was more of a command, or perhaps an opportunity for Vegeta to get away. The boy nodded gratefully and quickly made himself scarce.

Many years later

“Do you understand your orders Prince Vegeta?” Freiza asked him, putting a snotty emphasize on his title.  
“No, would you mind writing them down for me?” Vegeta asked sarcastically.  
“Oh-ho-ho you are funny.” Freiza chuckled. “It’s a good thing you do your job well, usually I kill people who talk to me like that.”  
“Lucky me.” Vegeta muttered.  
On the contrary though, he had nothing to fear from Freeiza. Freeiza had been on the fast track to eliminating them all years ago, but the Kai’s and The Destroyer God Beerus had forbid him from doing so, claiming that erasing Saiyjins from the universe would be harmful for the less developed planets. Vegeta only knew because he had been on Freeiza’s ship when the Gods had come to him.  
“Leave me.” freeiza growled.  
“As you wish Lord Freeiza.” Vegeta replied before exaggerating a bow and leaving the room.  
Vegeta was always glad to have missions off ship, he didn’t get them often Freeiza liked to keep him close to threaten his father. Vegeta still had no idea why, father had always been more fond of Tarble, he had always kept the younger saiyjin close. Did he not have faith in the strength of his offspring? Or did he simply not care at all for Vegeta? No, he didn’t care for either of them but he had to keep one of them close and Vegeta was already with Freeiza, there was no point in risking one to get the other back.  
“Prince Vegeta.” Someone said his name.  
Vegeta turned quickly and found himself facing Raditz father. Bardock was one of his father’s strongest warriors. Bardock should not be on this ship. If Freeiza knew then Bardock would be killed and it would give Freeiza viable reason to kill their people. But he could tell by the anxiety leaving Bardock that the older saiyjin knew as well. Vegeta turned back around and motioned for Bardock to follow him. Bardock complied. They made their way to the belly of the ship, towards the small ships that they usually used when leaving base. This was where there were no spys, everyone in this part of the ship was not here willingly.  
“Why are you here?” Vegeta asked as he entered the information he needed to prep a ship for launch.  
“My son…he’s alive.” Bardock said softly.  
“Yeah and he’s a pain in my ass.” Vegeta growled.  
“I’m not talking about Raditz.” Bardock said in a low voice.  
“Kakarot?” Vegeta asked, slightly taken aback. They had told everyone he had heart complications and passed.  
“Yes.” Bardock responded.  
“Why are you telling me this?” Vegeta knew he shouldn’t be concerned with the lives of low class saiyjins but for some reason he felt compelled.  
“Because he killed Raditz.” Bardock said. “Which means he may be helpful in gaining back our planets security.”  
“Well currently I have a mission I am being sent on, but I will try to find time.” Vegeta said with a shrug.  
Bardock had spoken of their planets security. He wasn’t wrong, Vegeta needed to bring back a prosperous life to his people. Vegeta examined the other closely before hopping into the ship he had prepared. Bardock seemed devastated by his lack of concern.  
“What sort of mission are you on?” Bardock asked his dismay heavy in his voice.  
“I have to go investigate Raditz murder.” Vegeta said with a smile. How ironic that freeiza was sending him exactly where Vegeta could find the tools of his demise. “Now there is another ship, take it and get far away from here, we don’t need a war.”

 

“Okay King Kai I think I am ready to go back to earth! I feel so much stronger!” Goku smiled at the blue man.  
“Well now the others have to wish you back, I will tell them to gather the dragon balls, you head back down snakeway so that you can be resurrected and go spend time with your family.” King Kai said waving him on.  
“Yeah!” Goku said excitedly. “Now I have the power to keep Gohan safe.”  
“Yeah, Yeah just go on.” King Kai declared before he attempted to contact Goku’s friends.

Goku landed in front of Kame house. This was the first place he had decided to visit, his friends had wished him back at Bulma’s but now he had to find Gohan. Bulma said that Piccolo took him, this made Goku tense, he was not sure if he could trust Piccolo to keep his child. Chi-Chi was naturally upset and had made her feelings about the situation crystal clear. If he didn’t return with Gohan she didn’t care if he returned. They had only been married for a few years and Goku was already tired of being married. He had been told there would be a lot of food, that was really the only reason he agreed. But he had gotten Gohan out of it, and he wasn’t sure if that was such a bad trade, now he just needed to find Gohan. He hoped master Roshi might have some news, if not he would have to get in touch with King Kai and ask him for help.  
“Yo! Roshi! Krillin! Turtle!” He shouted as he headed towards the house.  
“Hey Goku! You’re back!” Krillin shouted as he opened Roshi’s front door.  
“Yeah! I was actually wondering if you knew where Gohan was?” Goku asked as he approached his bald friend.  
“Oh yeah Piccolo just took him into the mountains by your house I think.” Roshi shouted. “None of us are uh strong enough to challenge Piccolo, but he hasn’t hurt Gohan so it will probably be fine.”  
“Geeze I’m glad I wasn’t raised by you old man.” A deep voice came from behind Goku.  
“Piccolo!” Goku shouted turning to face him.  
Piccolo stood near the edge of the beach with a long haired Gohan perched on his shoulders. Gohan looked healthy and plenty happy. Goku smiled relieved that Gohan had not been hurt. He had grown quite a bit in a year, he had changed as a person too. Goku could see in his face that he had matured plenty.  
“Gohan!” Goku shouted excited.  
“Dad!” Gohan quickly hopped off of Piccolo and flew to his dad.  
“You can fly!” Goku exclaimed.  
“I can fight now too!” Gohan said hugging his dad. “I missed you!”  
“I missed you too!” Goku held his son. “Hey thanks for taking care of him Piccolo.”  
“Seriously, don’t ever mention it again.” Piccolo muttered.  
“Dad! Mr. Piccolo trained me how to fight!” Gohan was obviously excited.  
“That’s really great!” Goku said. “Wanna fight?”  
“Yes!” Gohan said letting go of his father and dropping to the ground.  
“Is now really the time for that?” Piccolo asked crossing his arms.  
“What do you mean?” Goku asked, obviously he was missing someone.  
“Remember Gohan, we have someone we have to take your father to meet.” Piccolo responded.  
“Oh!” Gohan said excitement growing on his face. “Come on dad! You’re gonna love this!”  
With that Gohan took to the air Goku nodded at his friends and took off to follow his son, accompanied by Piccolo. Goku was surprised by how well Gohan was flying. He had been gone for a year but still Gohan’s use of his ki was already top notch. Goku caught up to his son and flew next to him. He was about to speak when he noticed the look of pure concentration on his sons face. He was doing so well because he was focusing really hard.  
They flew over mountains and through valleys taking miles in minutes before Gohan proceeded to land in a small clearing a few miles from their home. If this is where Gohan had been most of the last year then Goku was sure that he checked on his mother, if even from a distance. Gohan walked through the trees urging for Goku to follow him. They headed deeper into a patch of trees, there was little light filtering through the branches and it felt like a different world. Goku was sure that he had never been in this part of the land before.  
“Ok, the suspense is killing me.” Goku joked. “Where are you taking me?”  
“We are taking you to talk to Raditz.” Gohan said stopping and turning to face his father.  
“Wait…but I thought Piccolo killed him when he killed me?” Goku said confused and tense.  
“He was almost dead, but Gohan just had to save him.” Piccolo’s dark voice chimed in.  
“That’s all pointless now.” Gohan argued. “There is so much more going on! Uncle Raditz will have to tell you…but…it’s crazy.”  
“Fine.” Goku said trusting his son. “Lead on.”  
“Actually.” Piccolo muttered stopping them both. “Something feels off, Gohan I will take your father further, go check on your mother.”  
To this Gohan nodded and raised himself in the air before heading towards his home.

 

Vegeta had not known what to expect of the planet Raditz had died on. It was very…green. There were trees everywhere, the terrain was rough and he had yet to see a plane of flat land anywhere, they were all disturbed by hills or trees. He needed to find a place to land or he would ruin his ship. Finally he decided to make a rather risky landing in a valley. He had been in this ship for almost a year, he was ready to be out. He landed successfully but not without obstacle.  
Standing outside of it Vegeta examined his ship. Shit…he would definitely have to find someone to look at this. But he wasn’t entirely sure there was anyone on this planet that would be able to work on this technology. Well this was just fucking great. Vegeta groaned and kicked the ground. Whatever, for now he really just needed to find Kakarot. If an untrained saiyjin had taken out a fully trained freeiza force warrior then they might just have a chance if they could get him to be interested in helping them. But then he was one of Bardocks sons, and Raditz had never been very powerful, at least not compared to Vegeta himself. Vegeta however had been training since his encounter with Whis. Vegeta knew that there would come a time when Saiyjins were not needed anymore, and he needed to be sure that he was capable of keeping his people alive no matter who they faced.  
Vegeta was at a loss for where to even start. He lifted off the ground high enough to see the surrounding area. Trees, it was a lot of trees. There were a few clear spots, most looked like they had been cleared for the lumber that had been there before. After heading south for a bit he noticed a house nestled in to the mountains. He could start there; at least he could get some direction to a larger town where he might have better luck. He was unsure of exactly how many people lived on this planet but if there was a saiyjin among them he would have been noticed by now.  
Vegeta landed near the small house, it seemed like a fairly self-sufficient dwelling. There was a garden and a well and it looked to be near some prime hunting territory. Whoever lived here must not visit the city often. Vegeta tensed, unless there were no cities it would be marginally more difficult to find a lone Sayijin if there were no large towns on this planet. Vegeta growled, he was hoping it would be a quick trip. But nothing was easy about his life. Vegeta walked towards the dwelling, he didn’t notice anyone immediately in the area, but there had to be someone. The home was in far too good of a condition to be empty, and the garden looked like it had just been tended. Yes there were signs of domestic life everywhere. It was a quaint house, but looked much more welcoming than any place he had lived before.  
Vegeta couldn’t help what kind of life was lived in a place like this. He imagined it was one of peace and safety. Maybe a family, something he had longed for his entire life. Walking towards the building he noticed a shadow in the window. A woman? With a sigh he decided he had no choice but to walk over and knock on the door. His fist connected a little firmer than he hoped causing a much more violent knock than he intended. He cursed to himself. As he waited for someone to open the door. When it did open behind it stood a rather stout young woman with black hair that was held in a tight bun on the back of her head.  
“Who are you and what the hell do you want?” She asked aggressively.  
“I’m sorry to bother you.” Vegeta said through tight lips. “But I was actually wondering if you could point me the fastest way to the city, I seem to have lost my way.”  
“That’s bullshit.” The woman responded harshly. “The nearest town is very far away and the way here is the way back. So what do you really want?”  
“I’m telling you the truth woman. I have no idea where I am.” Vegeta said through gritted teeth. This woman had the same temperament as any saiyjin women so he couldn’t seem to help but respond to her. Part of him wanted to move on but another part of him wanted to keep shouting at her.  
“Well follow the road.” She growled pointing behind him.  
“Oh. Thank you!” Vegeta remarked before turning to head towards the road.  
“T….t…t…” The woman began.  
“What are you mumbling woman?” Vegeta turned back to face her.  
“Y…you have a t..tail.” She muttered before going white and collapsing forward. Vegeta took a leap forward and caught her in his arms.  
“Hey! What are you doing to my mom?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing I wanna make sure is clear. Vegeta is my favorite dragon ball character. I like him a lot and I love the depth of his character development throughout dragon ball z and into dragon ball super. In this fic Vegeta is stronger than Goku because he encountered whis at a young age, and ever since then he has been training nonstop in hopes of defeating Frieza. Also I gave him a different sort of attitude so he’s not the ruthless angry prince we meet in the Saiyjin Saga. I made him how I feel he would be if he still had a planet of people to save. So he is probably gonna be cooler than Goku the whole time….cuz he’s cool…. Also I watched the Dragon Ball Super Movie last night and it was amazing….

The trip without Gohan wasn’t very long. A few minutes passed before Piccolo motioned for him to land. They landed in an overgrowth of trees near the base of a mountain. Venturing into the brush brought them to the large mouth of a cave.   
“He’s inside.” Piccolo said before heading in.   
There was a lot of light in the cave and there were decorations as well. Goku chuckled as he noticed that a lot of the art on the walls appeared to have come from Gohan. Gohan and Piccolo must have spent a lot of time with this guy. That eased his mind a bit. Gohan had been nothing but excited to bring him here. He must really like Raditz. As they reached the belly of the cave a small camp became apparent. It looked made for three confirming Goku’s previous assumption.  
Raditz was sitting on the ground facing them, he must have seen them approaching at the very least he was expecting them. Goku approached Raditz tentatively. He wasn’t sure what to expect, last time he had seen this man had kidnapped Gohan and gotten them both gravely injured. But Goku could tell just by looking at the other that he had no bad intentions. The long haired Saiyjin was no longer dressed as he was when he arrived, gone was the pointy armor and now he was in a black gi, it looked similar to the purple ones that Gohan and Piccolo were wearing. Goku could tell by looking at his brothers face, he too was anxious about this meeting.   
“Gohan said you had something interesting to say?” Goku asked, crossing his arms.  
“I have a lot to say.” Raditz responded tensely.   
“Well, I wanna know to.” Goku said. His attitude lightening the mood between the three of them. “Start with explaining to me more what a saiyjin is. King Kai explained it but his voice is funny so it’s hard to pay attention.”  
“We are a warrior race that lives on Planet Vegeta.” Raditz explained. Goku nodded only needing this explanation really. “Our father sent you off of the planet because he feared that Emperor Freiza was going to destroy our planet, but mother and father both said that they sent you off planet to conquer a new one.”  
“But he didn’t?” Goku asked. Raditz nodded. “So why didn’t someone come get me?”  
“Freiza doesn’t like our people and he highly regulates travel.” Raditz explained.“ He wants to destroy us, but he has been forbid to do so by the gods.”  
“So how did you get to earth then?”   
“A large number of us who were young at the time were assimilated into the Freiza’s private army to prevent us from rising up against him.” Raditz explained. “Myself included, I was sent on a mission to find information about the dragon balls. But I found you instead Kakarot.”  
“Is that my name?” Goku asked he recalled his brother calling him by that name when they had first met.  
“Yes that is the name you were given by our parents.” Raditz said.  
“Hmm…I think I like Goku better.” Goku grumbled causing the other Saiyjin to laugh. “It sounds like that planet isn’t a nice place to live. You should just stay here.”  
“I would, but Frieza doesn’t let deserters live. I am sure he is under the impression that I died, but he is sure to send someone to finish what I was supposed to do and recover my body. Not for burial or anything, just to ensure I haven’t betrayed him.” Raditz explained.  
“That’s ok! King Kai just taught me a new way to power up and I am way stronger now.” Goku said with a smile.  
“Yeah that will be fine if they send a regular soldier.” Raditz said.   
“But you don’t think he will?” Goku asked.  
“No.” Raditz shook his head. “I am almost sure he won’t. The dragon balls grant immortality. If he can gain that he can become a god. He’s going to send his best.”  
“Is he really that strong of a guy?” Goku asked awestruck.  
“They say he is almost as powerful as Freiza himself. That’s why Freiza keeps him so close, but he can’t risk losing a lead on immortality. Or torturing the poor guy.” Raditz muttered.  
“If he is as powerful as Freiza why doesn’t he just kill him?” Goku asked.  
“Because Freiza has all of our people hostage.” Raditz tensed. “Prince Vegeta cannot attack Freiza without risking the death of every Saiyjin that lives on that planet.”  
“So then, do you think Freiza is afraid of this Vegeta guy?” Goku asked.  
“If not then I think he should be.” Raditz said softly before looking around. “By the way, where is young Gohan? That boy is a joy to be around.”  
“We sent him home.” Goku responded.  
“You should go check on him.” Raditz said softly. “In fact Kakaro…uh Goku you should keep very close to your family right now.”  
“Well you should come too then, you are my brother after all.” Goku said with a smile before he lifted off the ground and headed home.

“Don’t be stupid.” Vegeta glowered at the black haired boy. “I didn’t do anything she just screamed and fainted.”  
“Oh.” The boy responded relaxing bit. “Yeah I guess that sounds like her.”  
“Great now come take her so that I can leave I have things I need to do.” Vegeta grumbled.  
“Oh!” The kid responded running over to him and taking the unconscious woman from Vegeta. “Yeah ok.”  
“Good. Now good luck.” Vegeta announced before turning his back on the boy and leaving.   
He had to go find a larger town, he had to find the son of Bardock there was little hope for the saiyjin race otherwise.   
Gohan watched the stranger leave, bemused as to what had just happened. He looked down at his mom and then back up at the departing stranger, what could have caused him mom to faint? She stirred in his arms and he let her go into a sitting position.  
“Gohan sweetie?” She asked blinking at him.  
“Yeah mom?” Gohan asked softly.  
“Where did that man go? He had a tail just like you and your father.” Chi-Chi mumbled.   
Gohan froze, from what Uncle Raditz had told him it was likely that he just escaped death. But oddly he still didn’t feel unsafe. He might keep this encounter to himself for a while. He looked down at his mother and frowned.  
“What are you talking about mother?” Gohan lied. “You were alone when I got here.”

“Bullshit.” Vegeta muttered shedding his armor, leaving him in only a blue skintight suit his white boots and his white gloves. It was tedious work, especially for someone who didn’t like people. But he had to find the other Saiyjin, someone who wasn’t being tracked or watched or followed. Someone who by all accounts didn’t even exist.  
He fashioned his tail to look like a belt, that woman had fainted he was sure other people would react distastefully as well. He was going in blind about this worlds etiquette. Why did this world have to be so different from any he had ever been to? He took a deep breath and tried to think rationally, if Bardock had sent Kakarot somewhere close then he would not have survived long.   
Vegeta sighed as he headed into the town, he didn’t know where to start. He didn’t know the name Kakarot went by on this planet, or even what part of the planet he inhabited but he could assume that the man he was looking for looked like Bardock so that was a good place to start. Plus someone would know about a man with a tale. He had no doubt of that. Into the city he dove looking for answers. 

“Wait….so you’re an alien?” Chi-Chi asked Goku wide eyed.  
“Yeah.” Goku laughed nervously. “What do ya know.”  
“And you are his brother, and you have a tail just like Goku did when we met.” Chi-Chi muttered as she looked at Raditz who nodded. “No wonder I have been dreaming about people with tails.”  
But still, this guy looked nothing like the guy she had thought she had seen earlier today. Chi-Chi shot a look to her son who sat nervously beside her. He was keeping something from her, or maybe he was keeping it from everyone else. She was sure she had met another one of them earlier. But her son must have some reason to keep it from her.  
“The problem is Raditz is now being hunted for deserting an army. So he kinda needs to stay with us for a while.” Goku said.  
“What!” Chi-Chi shouted. “That’s putting Gohan in so much danger! No!”  
“It’s ok mom!” Gohan protested. “Mr. Piccolo taught me how to fight.”  
“Oh no!” Chi-Chi despaired. “Now you are gonna end up just like your father!”  
“Hey that wouldn’t be so bad.” Goku defended.   
“But all you do is fight and eat!” Chi-Chi glared at him.  
“It’s not my fault you make such good food.” Goku grumbled.  
“Gohan, you have a years’ worth of homework that’s piled up go to your room and don’t come out until dinner!” Chi-Chi said turning to her son.  
“That’s not fair!” Gohan protested. “I wanna hang out with Uncle Raditz!”  
“Well he’s not going anywhere! So go do your homework!”   
Goku and Gohan smiled, Chi-Chi had given in to what they wanted now it was probably best that they try to placate her so she would make them dinner. Gohan nodded before running through the living room and to his room. Goku smiled to his brother who seemed amused by the whole situation. Raditz couldn’t help but see the resemblance between their parents relationship and the relationship of the couple standing in front of him. It gave him hope that perhaps contentment could be found on this planet. 

Kame House. Vegeta felt like he was on a goose chase. He had made it to the city, but there was not a very large scene as far as fighting went. Someone had however directed him to a member of a local sports team. The man seemed to know a guy who he said kind of fit the description Vegeta gave him. However he was very sure that the man he was talking about had once had a tail. Apparently it had been removed in his teenage years. He had directed him to fly west to the middle of the ocean and stop at the island there. Vegeta had been right to assume that Kakarot had picked up a different name here since the other referred to him as Goku.   
“Goku.” Vegeta muttered to himself. But something about the name didn’t sit well on his tongue. No, he was a Saiyjin and as the Prince he would refer to all others with their given name.   
Vegeta slowed to relish in the atmosphere as he flew over the vast ocean. This planet was far different than the one he called home. It was vibrant and alive. The air was fresher and easier to breathe and the planet as a whole just felt safer. It had a morality that Planet Vegeta did not have. It was a world that was only inhabited by the creatures that were born there. Perhaps that was the difference. The Saiyjins decimated everything in their paths. They stole planets and sold them to the highest bidders. This planet still belonged to the beings it was made for, it was almost like a symbiotic relationship. Whereas the Saiyjins were a parasite of Planet Vegeta, sucking the life out of a place that did not belong to them. It wasn’t his people’s fault though, of that he was sure. His father and all of their fathers before them had been this way. Sorely focused on power, so much so that they had lost sight of their responsibility as Kings. Vegeta was sure he could do better. His people deserved better, his people deserved a place like this.  
Vegeta realized that he had stopped progression. He wasn’t sure for how long he had been staring at his reflection in the sparkling water, he needed to focus. He had an important task to attend to. There were bigger things than him in the works. Shaking his head Vegeta began again to progress.   
It didn’t take long for the small island to come into view. Landing on the beach Vegeta scanned the area. Nobody was outside but there was definitely someone here. Vegeta walked up to the house in the center of the island. There was noise coming from inside, someone was home. Vegeta knocked a little too loud alerting the occupants of his arrival. The door swung open to reveal an old bald man who wore a turtle shell on his back and a much younger and shorter bald man with dots on his forehead.

“Who are you?” The younger man asked standing straight and staring at Vegeta.  
Vegeta could tell just by the stance the man was taking, he was a fighter. He was prepared to defend or assault based on what Vegeta responded. Vegeta glared at the small man. He was no match for Vegeta, and he withered beneath the look.   
“I am looking for someone and I was told you may know him.” Vegeta responded.  
“I don’t know who you are looking for. But usually when scary guys come looking for someone I know them.” The other let out a tired sigh.  
“I do believe that you call him Goku?” Vegeta shuddered at the name, it didn’t feel right to say it.   
“Well yeah I know Goku.” The younger one said hesitantly. “What do you want with Goku?”  
“Just tell me where I can find him little man.” Vegeta growled. His patience for people was running thin. He didn’t have any more time to waste. He needed to find Kakarot and get training.  
“No.” He shook his bald head. “I will do nothing of the sort.”  
“I swear to god.” Vegeta spat as he formed an energy ball in his hand. This seemed to shake the others resolve.  
“H..he’s probably at home with his family…i…I can’t tell you where that is, he has a child I’m not going to put them in danger that way.” His whole body was shaking in fear. “But I can call him.”  
“Get him here.” Vegeta said through clenched teeth to the bald man. “People are going to start dying soon.”

Goku didn’t fly alone, he was accompanied by Raditz, Piccolo and, after much persuasion mostly on Raditz part, Gohan. Krillin had called them frantic claiming that there was a maniac with a tail at Kame house threatening the planet if Goku did not come soon. Raditz was sure it was the Prince. When Chi-Chi had protested Raditz had insisted that it would be a great way for Gohan to learn about Saiyjin heritage. Goku was actually a little jealous of how easy Raditz had sweet talked Chi-Chi.  
Goku wasn’t a stranger to his friends being threatened, it had happened a lot in his life. But the last real challenge they had faced was the Saiyjin flying with them, and he had made it clear that the Prince was far more powerful than him. Goku had always loved a challenge, but now he had a family to protect he couldn’t just fly blindly into battle. That got him killed once already, if he died again Shenron would not be able to bring him back and then Gohan would be without a father. Goku felt a shift in the air as they approached, was this guy really so powerful that it bled into the air? Goku had never encountered someone that powerful before, it made his whole body tense in anticipation.

 

Vegeta stood with his back to the house and stared off in the direction he was sure they would come from. The same direction he had come from. Vegeta chuckled as he watched the entourage approach. Raditz he recognized immediately. He scoffed, of course that weakling would find a way to survive. But then if he had survived maybe he was stronger now. Saiyjins got a significant power boost whenever they came back from the door of death. The sight of a namekian on this planet confused him, but he supposed that they were a rather nomadic people and it only made sense that one be here if this planet had dragon balls.   
They came to a stop several yards in front of him, hovering over the water. The hair, and the eyes, everything down to the way his body was built Kakarot was the image of his father. Vegeta had never been too fond of Bardock, but he was one of the only Saiyjins left that was not content with the place they sat in Frieza’s empire. Bardock was one of the only people he knew he could trust. Would he be able to trust his youngest son? Vegeta scoffed as he saw their youngest companion. Damn he had been right there, he hadn’t needed to go on this long adventure he had literally been at Kakarot’s home. He assumed that meant that the woman was his wife, and this boy his son. Perhaps patience really was a virtue.

“Are you Vegeta?” Kakarot was the first to speak.  
“I am.” Vegeta nodded sizing the other up. He was definitely stronger than Raditz, but Vegeta was not entirely sure that Kakarot could stand up against him. But he would at least be more of a challenge than anyone he had faced lately.  
“I hear you’re lookin for me?” He was sizing Vegeta up as well.  
“I am.” Vegeta nodded.  
“Well here I am, what do you want?” His usual care free demeanor made no appearance here.  
“I want you to fight me.” Vegeta declared. He definitely had a deeper motive than that, but a fight would give him the information he needed to move along.  
“I hear you are really strong.” There was a hint of excitement in his voice.  
“I am.”  
“I’m not any match for you. You know this already don’t you?” He asked raising an eyebrow.  
“I do.”  
“Then why do you wanna fight me?” Kakarot asked crossing his arms. “Did you come to take my planet?”  
“Dad.” The kid cut in. “I…I don’t think he’s a bad guy.”  
“But if you aren’t a bad guy then why did you tell Krillin people were going to die?” Kakarot asked his attention staying on the Prince. He didn’t want to let Vegeta out of his sight.  
“The Saiyjin people Kakarot. My people. OUR people!” Vegeta growled at the younger Saiyjin. How the hell did he become so dull?  
“But…my people are here…” Kakarot responded. “My people are Krillin and Master Roshi….Tien and Yamcha….my wife and my son.”  
Vegeta clenched his fists tightly and grit his teeth. No. There was no way Kakarot could say no to him. He couldn’t do this without the other Saiyjin. Kakarot was a well of untapped Saiyjin potential, he was someone who was powerful in his own right without harnessing the power of his heritage. Vegeta needed some sort of competition in order to further himself and he just knew that it had to be this Saiyjin in front of him. Nothing else was going to do. Vegeta just knew that with Kakarot’s help he could reach a level only dreamt about in whispers of legends.   
“Regardless.” Vegeta said through his teeth. “I still have to protect MY people. And this is the only solution I can devise.”   
“You have a whole planet full of powerful guys, why don’t you fight them?” Kakarot asked.  
“I have a planet full of men that could be powerful. But they instead cower under the shadow of that pink freak.” Vegeta growled.  
“Are those people really worth saving?” Kakarot questioned.  
“All people are worth saving.” Vegeta said meeting the other’s gaze boldly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, there was a death in the family and it's been a rough month. But never fear, for more is on it's way or in the works for this fic and the other i am writing as well! Thanks for the patience.

“Not everyone, and you know as well as I do that the Saiyjins are a despicable race.” Raditz intruded.  
Vegeta glowered at him. He had never been fond of Raditz, and was frankly appalled by his lack of devotion to their race. Raditz had always been fairly stuck up and full of himself. It was because his mother had spoiled him. The man that had sent Vegeta here looking for his youngest son would definitely be ashamed of his oldest. A younger Bardock might not, but the man he had become after losing his younger son would be very disappointed.  
“You are a coward.” Vegeta spit at Raditz. If looks could kill…  
Raditz glared at the prince, being called a coward would offend any Saiyjin, but Raditz took it hard because he felt like it was true. He stood no chance against the powers Vegeta was about to face, and he was afraid to lose the life he had never really lived. But to have those feelings was very not Saiyjin of him, so it was not something he could share. But it was also not something that he wanted pointed out frequently, or at all.  
“I guess I’m just trying to follow the example our king sets.” Raditz said coolly.  
“He is an old fool.” Vegeta said snidely.  
“That’s what we will be saying about you too.” Raditz grinned.  
“You know, your father thinks you are dead perhaps I should be courteous and bring him back your body.” Vegeta threatened.  
The threat visibly disturbed Raditz causing him to retreat slightly. Raditz was no match for Vegeta, and he knew it. The cocky smile on Vegeta’s face made it clear he knew as well. Raditz could not tell if the threat was hollow or not but naturally he feared the worst. Prince Vegeta was known to be ruthless when it came to conquering planets for Frieza. He rarely left anyone alive, but Raditz had never seen him face off against a Saiyjin.  
“I think you are going to learn a lot living here with us.” Kakarot said to Raditz. “Because me, and a lot of my friends would agree with the Prince. All people are worth saving, but they have to want to be saved.”  
“These are women, and children, and young boys who have never been taught to defend themselves.” Vegeta growled. “They have no power over their position. They follow a coward as that is all they have to cling on to in these uncertain times.”  
“You don’t follow that same coward?” Kakarot questioned.  
“As I said he is an old fool.” Vegeta glowered. “He knows nothing but weakness.”  
“You think you can do a better job of taking care of these women and children and young boys?” Kakarot asked.  
Vegeta took a deep breath as anger welled inside of him. He was mad at Kakarot for questioning him and not just following blindly. But this was a question he had asked himself often. Another deep breath steadied his shaking gaze. He had never even answered himself. This other Saiyjin caused him to think, perhaps a little too much. Vegeta clenched and unclenched his fist as he thought through his answer.  
“If not I can at least get them to a place where they have a choice in their own lives.” Vegeta responded. “I can give them the freedom they have all been lacking for so long.”  
“Are you sure you won’t be just like them, you know people often say that too much of a good thing is bad?”  
“God dammit if you won’t help me just tell me so that I can find someone who can. I don’t have time to dawdle people’s lives are at stake.” Vegeta growled.  
“Why now?” Kakarot asked. “Why is time so important now?”  
“Because he is looking for the Dragon Balls, if he is not stopped soon there will come a time when not even the god’s can face him.” Vegeta explained.  
“Wow! He’s that strong huh? I can’t even imagine standing up to King Kai let alone a more powerful God.” Kakarot let out a low whistle. “What makes you think you can beat him?”  
“I can’t, not alone. My stamina far exceeds his, but his raw power is still out of my reach. But nobody else is anywhere near my level. I need to get stronger and training alone isn’t doing it anymore.”  
“So then you want me to train with you?” Kakarot asked crossing his arms.  
“Yes, but time is of the essence so I would need you to come with me. When we are victorious I will return you to this planet.” Vegeta said.  
“What if we lose?” This was the real question, the only question that really worried Kakarot at all.  
“Then we will both die, as will the rest of the Saiyjin race.” Vegeta responded solemnly.

Kakarot seemed to ponder for a moment, causing everyone to go tense. He had just come back to life, the thought of something happening to him shook Gohan. But he knew his father and he knew what his father was going to say. He only hoped his father was strong enough to make it back. Vegeta was growing more anxious as each second passed.  
“Raditz.” Kakarot turned to his brother. “Stay here with Gohan and Chi-Chi. Maybe they can teach you a little humanity. And in the event that I don’t make it back, please protect my planet.”  
“Great!” Vegeta responded.  
“Now, how do we get there?” Kakarot asked.  
“On my ship…” Vegeta started his joy changing to dismay quickly. “My ship…that I…I crashed…”  
“What how are we going to travel through space on a broken ship?” Kakarot asked with a small laugh.  
“D…do you know anyone who can fix it?” Vegeta asked doubting there was any chance.  
“I don’t think so?” Kakarot responded.  
“Dad?” The boy behind him said looking slightly surprised. “Aren’t you forgetting about someone?”  
“I don’t think so?” Kakarot responded.  
“What about Bulma?” His son asked.  
“Oh!” Kakarot laughed and rubbed the back of his head. “You’re right Gohan. Come on Prince, Bulma can fix anything.”  
Vegeta found the woman abrasive, obnoxious, and quite vulgar. Her attitude and mannerisms were rather aggressive, he hadn’t spent a lot of time around women but the ones he had were nothing like this. He wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about her, but something about her really got under his skin. It could have been her incessant blabbing about useless things or it could have been the fact that she would not stop flirting with him. But Kakarot and Gohan had been sure that this woman could fix his ship, so he just had to bear with it.  
“Uhm, it will proabably take me about two weeks to fix it.” Bulma said turning off her flashlight as she crawled out from under it. “Do you think you could get it back to my lab?”  
“Yeah I could probably do that.” Kakarot said after a moment of thought. “You go back and I will bring it over after I take Gohan home.”  
Three pairs of eyes turned to him as if to ask him what to do. Raditz had fled to Kakarot’s house when they had left the island, it was obvious Vegeta had terrified him. He didn’t want to go with the woman, he had the feeling something bad would surely happen to him if he did. Quite frankly she scared him. And he knew if he went with Kakarot the woman who was likely his wife would recognize him. The boy had but he had chosen not to say anything. For that Vegeta was thankful, but also slightly surprised.  
“I’m staying with the ship.” Vegeta said tensely. It was honestly the only place he felt comfortable.  
“Great, then you can stay at my house cutie.” Bulma winked at him causing his face to flush with anger and embarrassment.  
“Hey Bulma, you really shouldn’t talk to him like that. He’s royalty after all.” Kakarot laughed. “Ok well you stay here and when I get back we can take the ship to Bulma. If you wanna start training we can start as soon as we get back to Bulma’s.”  
Vegeta grinned, Kakarot was taking his request seriously. Though he was raised on this planet he still had the fierce desire to fight and grow stronger, just as any Saiyjin would it was in their blood. Vegeta nodded to Kakarot as the woman got in her vehicle and headed away.  
“Come on Gohan.” Kakarot said. “Your mom is probably worried sick, and I bet Raditz has done nothing but rile her and Piccolo up.”  
“Yeah, but Piccolo will probably be fine, he’s a lot more sensible than mom.” Gohan nodded at his father, but the boy didn’t pull his gaze from Vegeta for even a second. Kakarot seemed ignorant of his sons interest in the other Saiyjin, either that or he saw nothing off about the boy’s behavior. But Vegeta could feel the intent behind Gohan’s eyes. He had more he wanted to say to Vegeta. There was a light of curiosity in his eyes, and a level of awareness that seemed to far outreach his years. Gohan opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again. He repeated this a few times, obviously struggling to speak his mind.  
“Yes?” Vegeta asked crossing his arms and staring the boy down. The sudden pressure seemed to clear the clouds in Gohan’s mind.  
“Will you be coming back…after you save your people that is?” Gohan asked, the question taking Vegeta and Kakarot off guard.  
“C’mon Gohan, it’s really not polite to bother people. Plus that’s really none of our business.” Kakarot interjected, he didn’t want to upset the Prince. Though he was surprised, the last time he had seen Gohan he had been a shy child, but in the last year he had grown into something strong and bold. Vegeta shot Kakarot a gaze that eased his worries. Vegeta was far from irritated with the boy, he was actually growing to like him more and more every time he opened his mouth. Vegeta would never understand why a child was the most logical person he had met on this planet.  
“No.” Vegeta said surely. “Because saving them doesn’t stop with Frieza, it’s my duty to protect and take care of them, for as long as I am alive. That is my responsibility, and if I forsake that then what is left for me as a man, as a Saiyjin.”  
“Oh…” Gohan muttered softly, his body sagged with obvious disappointment.  
“Why?” Vegeta asked, there had to be a reason behind his question.  
“Because a year ago, someone came to my planet and said that half of me is something that I know nothing about. And I wanna know more, Uncle Raditz doesn’t have anything useful to say about the Saiyjin’s, but I figured you might.” Gohan replied surely.  
“How about I send back some books with your father?” Vegeta asked. “History I assume would be your main interest.”  
Gohan’s eyes lit up and he nodded adamantly. Vegeta grinned and in a moment longed for something he had promised to worry about later. A family, it would be nice to have a son he longed to be a better father than his own one day. He definitely dreaded the thought of his own son committing the same treason Vegeta himself was planning to commit, but first there was Freiza. The family, he would worry later.  
“Promise?” Gohan asked holding out his pinky. Vegeta chuckled at the antic, knowing he should expect it from someone so young, but regardless he nodded and twined his pinky with the boy’s.  
“Promise.” Vegeta declared before watching the pair depart.  
With a sigh Vegeta examined the terrain around him. It was heavily wooded so it would be a wonderful place for some light practice. Vegeta took a deep breath before he began his warm up.

“Are you crazy?!” Chi-Chi shouted at her husband. “You haven’t even been alive for a day and now you are going to go put your life in danger again? What do you think you are teaching Gohan by doing this?”  
“I dunno, but these people need my help. Should I teach Gohan to ignore people who need his help? We are a lot stronger than everyone else. We should protect those who cannot protect themselves.”  
“But if you are so much stronger because of what you are then why do they need your help? Shouldn’t they be strong enough to defend themselves?” Chi-Chi pointed out.  
“Mom, just let him go.” Gohan cut in softly. “You are either gonna let him go and be ok with it or he’s gonna go and you are gonna be mad the whole time he’s gone.”  
“Gohan don’t talk to me that way!” Chi-Chi shouted. “Oh no you are already becoming a delinquent and you are so young! Where did my sweet baby boy go!?”  
“Mom stop.” Gohan said rather sternly. “One, dad isn’t leaving for like two weeks, and two you are over reacting. I am not a delinquent I’m just logical, which is your fault for making me smart. With that being said I am going to my room.”  
Gohan left leaving the four behind him, he locked his door behind him making it clear he didn’t want to be bothered. Attention turned to Goku. Chi-Chi looked on the verge of tears, but Goku couldn’t tell if it was anger or sadness that had brought her there. He walked close to her and held her face gently between his hands.  
“Goku…” Chi-Chi said softly, it was clear she didn’t want him to go.  
“Chi-Chi, I have to. My parents are still alive. My parents sent me here to give me a chance at being ok. If it wasn’t for them I would be stuck on that planet with everyone else. I got lucky, I got the chance to have you, and to have Gohan. I have to do what I can to repay them for all the good I have been given in my life.” Goku said softly. “I will come back, I promise, and you will have Raditz and Gohan to take care of you while I’m gone.”  
“And if you die? We can’t wish you back a second time.” Chi-Chi said sadly.  
“If I die then I will wait for you at the gates of otherworld.” Goku reassured her.  
Chi-Chi nodded, allowing him the freedom to leave, but that didn’t mean she was happy about it. Goku kissed her forehead before nodding to Piccolo and his brother. He could hear the sobs as he left the house, he was always hurting Chi-Chi, she definitely deserved a better husband than him. Gohan deserved a better father, but he had a debt to repay to the people who had given him this life. But he swore to himself he would return and be a better father, a better husband. 

“Woah, what happened to all the trees!” Kakarot stared in awe, when he had left only a few hours before there had been no way to spot the crash site from the air, or any other place for that matter, but now it looked almost as if an avalanche had created a clearing only to immediately melt and leave no signs of its existence aside from the broken and jagged trees.  
Kakarot’s declaration brought Vegeta out of the training obsessed haze he had been in moments before. Vegeta cursed and jumped back, it took him a moment to register who exactly Kakarot was. Vegeta sighed and relaxed out of his stance. Taking a quick look around him he noticed the destruction he had caused after diving into training. Surprisingly it was mostly due to the agility training that had done it. The trees in this area grew haphazardly and he found himself accidentally mowing one down with is body as he attempted to maneuver around another. Vegeta locked eyes with the other Saiyjin and shrugged.  
“Light training?” Vegeta answered finally.  
“LIGHT TRAINING?” Kakarot responded his jaw going slack for a second. He quickly regained himself. “Oh man I am gonna have so much fun training with you! I wonder how strong I’ll get. Maybe I’ll get stronger than you!”  
“Maybe.” Vegeta said cynically. “But you will have to lose to me a lot to even get close.”  
“Who knows, I might surprise ya!” Kakarot responded with a stupid grin.  
Vegeta clenched his fist and scoffed. Everything about this other Saiyjin irritated yet intrigued him. His attitude was far from that of a normal Saiyjin, but his confidence was right on track. Vegeta could rarely admit to himself when he liked someone, for he had not found a lot of living beings that didn’t disgust him, but he was definitely less disgusted by Kakarot than he was by others he had encountered…like that blue haired woman. He shuddered slightly at the thought of her.  
“You ok Prince?” Kakarot asked leaning in a little too close. Vegeta stumbled backwards on the uneven terrain.  
“Do you not understand the concept of personal space you buffoon?” Vegeta growled swinging his fist at Kakarot and landing it against his ear.  
“Ow, ow, ow.” Kakarot growled as he flinched away grabbing his ear. “Yeah sure, personal space… tell me how exactly do you plan to have this personal space when two of us are crammed in that tiny ship of yours? And how are we even gonna train in there anyway.”  
“We’ll figure it out on the way.” Vegeta growled, deflecting because Kakarot had just pointed out a ton of holes in his plan he had not seen before.  
“Yeah ok.” Kakarot responded rolling his eyes, before turning to the aforementioned ship. “I guess we should get to Bulma’s then, so that she can figure it out for us.”  
Vegeta tensed at the mention of the blue haired woman. The thought of her caused a small amount of bile to rise in him. She was far too much…whatever she was for him to handle. Sure the woman seemed smart, but she had terrible people skills, or at least was unable to notice when she was bothering someone. Kakarot noticed the look on Vegeta’s face and chuckled.  
“You really don’t like Bulma huh?” Kakarot asked in between laughter.  
“I am not particularly fond.” Vegeta growled back.  
“It will be ok. Most people don’t like Bulma at first, but she grows on them eventually.” Kakarot grinned.  
“Here’s to hoping I don’t have to find out.” Vegeta grumbled.  
“You might be surprised.” Kakarot responded with a shrug.  
Vegeta rolled his eyes. Kakarot sure seemed to think he was going to surprise Vegeta at every turn. Vegeta had a hard time believing it, but his heart beat faster in anticipation, perhaps something to break the monotony of his routine life. He supposed if anything could break that monotony this monster of a Saiyjin would be the one to do it.  
“Let’s just get this over with.” Vegeta growled before turning to look at his ship. Why the hell couldn’t she just work on it here? And why the hell did he have to take it to her there? A real mechanic should be able to fix things where they broke. Kakarot nodded to him before they lifted it off the ground and carried it in the direction Kakarot led.

“Lord Beerus, you should know better than to mess with history.” Whis said walking over to his master.  
“I know, but imagine a universe where the Saiyjin’s survive Whis, our mortal level will be much higher.” Beerus responded softly. The realization that they were the weakest universe had hit Beerus hard during the tournament, despite the fact that they had won.  
“It’s a dangerous game you are playing.” Whis said scolding. Beerus knew that altering time was against the rules, but he also knew that Whis had no power to punish him, all punishment came from Zeno.  
“Is that why you didn’t give Vegeta away?” Beerus asked accusingly.  
“It’s not my job to meddle in the affairs of the universe my lord, that is your job.” Whis deflected.  
“Ha, quick as always Whis.” Beerus said scathingly.  
“I have to be to keep up with you My Lord.” Whis said dramatically.  
“You flatter me Whis.” Beerus seethed glaring at his attendant.  
“Shall we eat My Lord?”  
“What? We don’t have Bulma to feed us in this timeline.” Beerus pointed out.  
“I can make food.” Whis said offended.  
“Her’s is better.” Beerus growled.  
“Consider it your punishment for messing with things out of your power.” Whis offered.  
“I will take that over the other option.” Beerus responded.  
“I wonder if they will still get married.” Whis said softly.  
“See you are just as interested as I am.” Beerus shot back.  
“What if they die?” Whis asked raising an eyebrow.  
“Then we go back to our own timeline where they are still alive and Bulma can cook for us.” Beerus smiled.  
“My lord…” Whis reprimanded.  
“I know.” Beerus cut him off. “But I have to know before you replace me if there could have been a different outcome.”  
“My lord!” Whis responded sounding offended.  
“It’s ok Whis.”Beerus responded with a smile. “Just understand that I’m not going anywhere without a fight.”


	4. Chapter 4

Getting the ship to the compound proved more difficult than Vegeta originally anticipated, mostly due to the fact that Kakarot was easily distracted by just about anything. This irritated Vegeta as he was very focused on the end goal and in too much of a hurry to be patient. Vegeta had definitely yelled at Kakarot more than once to get a move on. The cheerful younger Saiyjin would just laugh and then do as Vegeta asked. Kakarot seemed very easy going, and this took Vegeta by surprise. He had never met such an easy going Saiyjin before. It was a nice change from the high strung company he usually kept.   
Luckily when they arrived the blue haired woman paid him no mind. She was far more interested in the ship. It seemed like this was very much her passion, and Kakarot had been right if anyone could fix it then it would be this woman. She waved them away and told them to take whatever they wanted to do outside. Making it very clear that they were not to distract her. This left Vegeta and Kakarot in an open field near the main Capsule Corps building.  
Vegeta took a deep breath as he faced the younger Saiyjin. Kakarot was visibly restless. Excitement? It had to be, he had a stupid grin on his face. But his excitement was infectious because Vegeta could feel it welling up in his chest as well. It had been a long time since Vegeta had engaged in a sparring match. He was stronger than most, if not all of the Frieza Force even the Ginyu Force was aware of his prowess. Due to this the only person who dared talk down to him was Frieza. Vegeta clenched his fists and focused back on Kakarot. It wouldn’t be long before Frieza was a nonissue. Vegeta knew that with Kakarot’s help it would be possible.   
“Only one rule.” Vegeta said holding up a finger.   
“Okay?” Kakarot responded looking slightly confused.   
“Don’t hold back.” Vegeta grinned.  
“Well then let’s go!” Kakarot responded heatedly.   
Vegeta nodded as he slipped into his battle pose, one hand to his side and one in front. Kakarot shot towards him and immediately disappointment filled Vegeta. Kakarot wasn’t very quick. Vegeta parried his fist and sent him flying with a kick to the side. Kakarot recovered in the air and shot back towards him. This time he was quicker, Vegeta prepared to parry again but in an instant Kakarot was no longer in view. Behind. Vegeta turned quickly and buried a fist in Kakarot’s stomach before he could land a blow on Vegeta. The punch sent Kakarot flying through a nearby tree.  
Kakarot laid there for a moment, looking at the sky. It had been a long time since he had been this outmatched. Even against Raditz he had stood a fighting chance, but Vegeta seemed to see through every one of his attacks. He needed to change his approach, or perhaps not approach at all. Kakarot stood and dusted himself off before meeting Vegeta’s gaze. He was waiting for Kakarot to attack again, giving him a chance. When it became obvious Kakarot wasn’t going to move Vegeta flew towards him.   
Fast. Kakarot couldn’t get over how fast he was. Kakarot was able to find in just in time to guard from the blow Vegeta aimed at him. The force pushed Kakarot backwards but he was able to stay on his feet. Vegeta continued his assault forcing Kakarot backwards with each blow. He was pulling punches, Kakarot could tell. He was breaking his one rule because Kakarot didn’t stand a chance. Kakarot knew he should be disappointed but he couldn’t help but get excited, this just meant that there were levels he had yet to reach. Vegeta relented falling back into the position he had started this battle in. He seemed to think it was over, or not worth continuing.   
“I guess it’s time I get serious.” Kakarot said grinning. This phrase seemed to reinvest Vegeta in the situation.  
“Then get serious.” Vegeta responded calmly.   
Kakarot took a large breath and tensed every muscle in his body. A red haze of energy surrounded Kakarot as he let out an earth shaking shout. “KAIOKEN.” Kakarot screamed, his voice was filled with pain as he continued to scream. The energy emanating from him caused the surrounding area to shake.   
Kakarot’s screaming stopped abruptly and the intense energy mellowed down, it was no longer volatile, but that didn’t mean it had lost any of its intensity. Kakarot slipped into his battle stance and grinned at Vegeta. He was ready to go again, but this time he would put up some sort of fight instead of just being a punching bag. Kakarot flew towards Vegeta, his speed catching Vegeta off guard. Kakarot landed his first blow and sent Vegeta flying into the Capsule Corps building.   
“Shit.” Kakarot muttered powering down as Vegeta rose from the rubble. “Bulma is gonna be pissed.”   
Vegeta regrouped with the terrified looking Kakarot. He wasn’t sure why this large man was so afraid of the blue haired pixie but something about her caused him to shake.  
“GOKU!!!!!!” The voice came from within the building, but seeing as there was a hole in the side of it there was really no barrier to prevent them from the slew of curse words she threw out as she approached them.   
“Shiiiit.” Kakarot said again this time a little quieter.   
It was obvious the woman was full of rage as she came stalking towards them with her eyes focused on the younger Saiyjin.  
“Why do you constantly destroy my stuff!” Bulma shouted swinging her fists aggressively at him. Kakarot allowed each blow to hit him, as they would obviously do no damage.  
“I’m sorry Bulma, we just got a little caught up sparring.” Kakarot offered apologetically as she lowered her fists.   
Vegeta couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene. It was like watching siblings fight.   
“You think this is funny asshole?!” Bulma shouted turning to face Vegeta with a fire in her blue eyes. “Do you have any idea how much research is inside of that building? I spend all day trying to make scientific breakthroughs, and all of my work is here. It’s not funny!”  
Bulma threw her fist at him too, landing it in the middle of his sternum. Her blow was almost unnoticeable. But he could tell that the obedience Kakarot showed her had nothing to do with her physical prowess, but entirely to do with respect. Vegeta had to admit that she was definitely more attractive in this attitude than she had been when she relentlessly flirted with him at their first encounter.   
“Bulma!” Kakarot exclaimed putting himself between the two. “You can’t just go around punching royalty! And you can’t insult them. You can’t call him an asshole. You should refer to him as Prince Vegeta.”  
“Why do you suddenly know so much about how to address royalty?” Bulma asked crossing her arms and glaring at Kakarot.  
“Well…Chi-Chi is a princess ya know. She told me these things.” Kakarot responded with a shrug.  
“Fine.” Bulma growled before shoving Kakarot away and meeting Vegeta’s gaze. “I don’t care if you are a prince, don’t break my stuff got that Vegeta?”  
“It probably won’t happen again.” Vegeta responded with a nod. She got visibly irritated at the probably, but seemed to accept this as an apology.   
“It’s fine I guess.” Bulma said with a sigh as she relaxed. “I had to come talk to you anyway.”  
“Is it news about my ship?” Vegeta asked raising an eyebrow.  
“Yeah. I can fix it no problem. But you ruptured the fuel casing. So even if I fix it you are out of fuel, and I can’t seem to find anything on this planet to fuel it.” Bulma muttered looking puzzled.   
“How is he supposed to get home then?” Kakarot asked his words filling Vegeta with dread. He hadn’t gone through all this to be stuck on a planet far away from the people he was trying to save. This couldn’t be the end of his journey.   
“I have a ship….” Bulma drew out. “But it only has enough fuel to get you there, there would be the problem of getting Goku back.”  
“It will be fine.” Vegeta interrupted. “There are only two outcomes to this fight. One, we lose and both of us die. In that case there is no need for a ship. And two we win, if we win I will be the King of my planet and they are far beyond you in technology there would be no trouble getting him back to this planet.”  
“Ok….” She didn’t sound entirely convinced. “I need to wait for my father to get home so that he can run diagnostics and maintenance on the ship. He should be home in a few days. But you might be ready to go sooner than originally planned.”   
“Chi-Chi is gonna be so mad at me.” Kakarot groaned running a hand through his unruly hair.  
“She’ll be fine.” Bulma declared waving her hand at him. “She’s used to your emotional distance so physical probably doesn’t bother her too much.”  
Vegeta raised an eyebrow, there was obviously more to Kakarot’s marriage than a loving union. But Vegeta himself honestly didn’t care, he had important things to care about. Plus he doubted he would see Kakarot after the defeat of Frieza so why bother investing time or interest. He was fine with leaving early in fact it only filled him with even more anticipation. 

 

“Ok, I should probably head home now.” Kakrot muttered as he stood keeping his back to Vegeta.  
“That’s fine.” Vegeta responded tensely as his gaze shot towards the domestic dwelling on in the Capsule Corps compound.  
“Hey, don’t worry too much. Bulma will take care of ya while I’m not around.” Kakarot turned to grin at him before lifting off into the air and heading into the night.  
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Vegeta grumbled as he stood up as well.   
Much to Vegeta’s dismay Bulma was outside of the front door when he approached the building. She wasn’t alone however. She was accompanied by the frail looking human who had given him directions to where he could find Kakarot. Naturally they would know each other if the man knew Kakarot. They were locked in an embrace that honestly embarrassed Vegeta to see, and they were quite literally blocking the door. Vegeta cleared his throat causing the couple to jump. The man looked confused, and then upset. But Bulma looked slightly relieved.   
“You. What are you doing here?” The man asked, but Vegeta chose to ignore him.  
“Where am I staying?” Vegeta asked Bulma. The man grew visibly distraught at being ignored.   
“Ah.” Bulma responded. “There are a bunch of rooms. You can just pick one.”  
“Bulma?” The man asked angrily.  
“Oh yeah!” She said as if she suddenly remembered that he was there. “Yamcha, this is Vegeta. He’s come to take Goku to a far off space battle!”  
“Goku’s leaving?” Yamcha responded crossing his arms. “Didn’t he come back to life today?”   
“Yeah.” Bulma responded with a shrug.  
“I’ll have to make sure to check in on Chi-Chi.” Yamcha muttered. “Make sure she doesn’t feel alone while he’s gone.”  
Bulma seemed oblivious to the intent behind her boyfriend’s words, but Vegeta caught on immediately. Dammit, he told himself he wasn’t going to get invested in Kakarot. Every fiber of his being told him to leave it alone, it wasn’t his place or his responsibility. Unfortunately for Vegeta his mouth seemed to have a mind of its’ own.   
“I think she will be okay.” Vegeta locked eyes with the human. “After all I do believe Kakarot’s older brother, and the namekian are staying with her.”  
“Goku has an older brother?” Bulma asked surprised to which Vegeta only nodded.  
“Oh.” Yamcha replied the disappointment in his voice evident. He seemed to do nothing to hide it and Vegeta felt a pang of pity for the blue haired women that stood with them.  
“Woman.” Vegeta declared looking at Bulma. “Show me where the rooms are.”  
“They really aren’t that hard to find.” Yamcha interrupted.  
“I don’t believe I was talking to you.” Vegeta glared making his distaste for Yamcha evident. “In fact, your presence is annoying me. You should leave.”  
“What!?” Yamcha shouted offended before turning to Bulma for help. “Bulma?”  
“I mean…he is a prince.” Bulma pointed out obviously relived that someone was sending the man away. “Goku said that I should respect that.”  
“Bulma….” Yamcha whined, obviously not thrilled with the fact that she was making him leave unsatisfied.  
“Leave.” Vegeta growled before grabbing the woman by the arm and pulling her into the house.   
“Let me go!” Bulma declared as soon as the door was closed causing Vegeta to loosen his grip.  
“My apologies.” Vegeta muttered as she ripped her arm away from him. “But he did not seem like the best company.”  
“Any company is better than no company.” Bulma said before letting out a sigh. “And I paid so much for dinner too. I got nothing out of it!”  
“Perhaps I can provide you some company?” Vegeta offered feeling guilty, though he knew he would not be much company.  
“I doubt you could offer me what I wanted from him.” Bulma muttered.  
“Oh? And what kind of company is that?” Vegeta asked oblivious.  
“The…personal kind of company.” Bulma said being very obvious with her tone.  
“My people usually leave that kind of company for the marriage bed.” Vegeta responded skeptically.   
It was true, though they were an animalistic people intercourse remained something most saiyjins viewed as sacred. Intercourse led to children and the desire for strong children made most Saiyjins think twice about whom they took to bed. Vegeta had given into temptation more than once, but never with someone of a different race. It had also been well over a year if not too, so the offer was slightly tantalizing.  
“My people…” The woman started as she opened the door. “Usually don’t care.”  
With those words she slipped through the door and it shut behind her. The door was closed but the invitation was opened. Vegeta had to process for a moment. He attempted to lay a pro and con list out in his head, but his mind kept getting distracted. He cursed softly to himself. Her attitude and personality were overwhelming and annoying, but he could imagine what might be hiding under her clothes. Plus he wasn’t planning on coming back so he would have no reason to offer her any fake commitment. She had to know this already. Vegeta shrugged and supposed that he was not the one to ignore customs of a foreign planet. He then followed her.

“Did you bring Vegeta back with you?” Gohan’s question assaulted Goku before he fully opened the door.  
“No…” Goku responded with a chuckle. “I left him at Bulma’s, we really don’t have enough room here for another person.”  
“Dang.” Gohan muttered, obviously disappointed.   
“Why don’t you just come with me when I head over there tomorrow?” Goku asked as he slipped his shoes off and headed into the main room where Chi-Chi was reading a book.   
“Mom can I go with dad to capsule corps tomorrow?” Gohan asked excitedly.  
“Even if I said no you would end up going anyway.” Chi-Chi grumbled, she was obviously still upset with her son as well as her husband. She wouldn’t look at either of them.  
“Gohan.” Goku said softly. “It’s probably time for you to go to bed.”  
Gohan looked surprised at first but then seemed to understand that Goku just wanted him to leave. Gohan nodded before heading out of the room. Goku turned his attention to his wife who had closed and set down her book. Goku sat across from her.   
“I’m going to come back.” Goku promised.   
“But you just got back.” Chi-Chi muttered sadly.  
“I know.” Golu responded softly. “But…my parents…I haven’t had a parent since Grandpa Gohan died. I don’t really understand how to be a parent. But they saved me. They gave me this life, they sent me to this place. If they hadn’t been willing to do that I never would have met you, and we never would have had Gohan. And then there’s that too….Gohan….He’s the best thing anyone has ever given me. If I had to send him away it would hurt a lot. So I can’t imagine how much they are hurting.”  
“Goku…” Chi-Chi said softly.  
“I’m going to come home Chi-Chi. I just need to make sure their home is safe first. I owe them that much.” Goku took her hands in his. “You won’t be alone. You’ll have everyone. And when I come back, we will get to raise Gohan together.”  
“Okay.” Chi-Chi responded sullenly. “Take Gohan with you tomorrow; spend time with him before you leave.”  
Goku nodded before standing and kissing her softly on the head. Goku left the room and headed outside for some lone training. He had been completely outmatched by Vegeta and it burned at him. He wanted to be that strong. And he was sure he hadn’t seen the full extent of Vegeta’s power. Goku itched with the desire to fight him again and become much stronger. The first thing Goku needed was speed. He hadn’t been nearly fast enough to keep up with Vegeta. Goku slipped into the trees and began his warm ups before proceeding to agility training. He kept at it deep into the night, forgetting the world completely, focused solely on getting faster so he could keep up with the Prince. 

“You said I could stay in any of the rooms?” Vegeta asked as he pulled his suit back on.  
“You could just stay in here with me.” The woman responded as she sat up in the bed, holding the sheet over her naked body.  
“Thanks.” Vegeta muttered as he headed to the door. “But I am not interested in a relationship with a human.”  
His words were harsh and took Bulma by surprise, but they really shouldn’t have. He was leaving in a few days anyway, it was very unlikely she would ever see him again. Vegeta exited the room and Bulma threw herself back against the bed with a groan. The biggest problem lay in the fact that she would probably never experience sex that good again. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was a Saiyjin thing or just a Vegeta thing. No, Bulma decided after a moment of thought, no…she was entirely sure that it was just a Vegeta thing.   
“Besides….” Bulma groaned to herself. “Unless that man has been living under a rock he probably has a wife somewhere.”


	5. Chapter 5

Take Gohan with you, yeah great idea Chi-Chi. Kakarot mused to himself. As soon as they had arrived Gohan had attached himself to the prince. At first it was fine, actually nice to see Gohan being so social. Gohan usually steered away from strangers. However after about an hour Kakarot grew restless. He wanted to spar. The prince had said they were going to spar. He had complained, in fact his complaining had no end and was obviously irritating the other two.   
“I thought we were gonna train?” Kakarot complained as he sat watching Vegeta and Gohan engaged in avid conversation.   
If looks could kill Kakarot would be dead, done in by this mysterious prince and his own son. Their looks made it clear that he was unwelcome, but nevertheless Kakarot was not planning on leaving until they had trained. He had not stayed up all night for nothing. While he was sure he was still not match for Vegeta, Kakarot wanted to show off his improvements no matter how small they might be. There was a hot feeling of discomfort in his stomach at being ignored by the prince.  
“It’s obvious you could do with training of the mind as well.” Vegeta clipped back harshly. “A good warrior can make use of all of his muscles.”  
“What does that have to do with studying?” Kakarot asked with a dumb chuckle.  
“Dad….the brain is a muscle. He’s basically calling you stupid.” Gohan pointed out.   
“I’m not stupid!” Kakarot responded heatedly as he stood.  
“Good.” Vegeta cut in. “Then use your brain and learn to be patient.”   
Kakarot puffed up his chest at the comment but was immediately ignored by the other two. With a groan he left the room. Patient? Hah. This coming from the guy who was insistent on them leaving as soon as possible. However, he had never seen Gohan this interested in anything before. Sure he had a passion for studying, he had been that way since birth, but something about the Prince seemed to draw Gohan in. Something about the heritage they both knew nothing about. With a sigh Kakarot slid against the wall next to the door. A heritage Kakarot himself knew nothing about. He closed his eyes and listened to the muffled voices through the door as Vegeta spun tales of great battles, victories and failures. Something about the prince’s rough voice was soothing and entrancing. Kakarot could not seem to focus on anything else as he sat there. 

“Heyo, earth to Goku?” A sharp voice broke his trance and Kakarot all but growled at the intruder.  
“Crap. Uh sorry Bulma.” He responded with a laugh as he realized who the person was.  
“What are you doing?” Bulma asked crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at him.  
“Ah, Chi-Chi made me bring Gohan with me today. Now him and the Prince are talking about history and other boring stuff so I left.” Kakarot responded unwilling to admit that he had just been listening to them through the door.  
“Oh.” Bulma muttered diverting her eyes at the mention of Vegeta.   
“You okay Bulma?” Kakarot responded noticing her change in behavior.  
“Yeah, I’ll just be glad when I don’t have to house that freeloading jerk.” Bulma growled.  
“I mean he could always stay with me if it bothers ya that much.” Kakarot offered.  
“Don’t be silly. Besides I hear there are plenty of people at your house right now as it is.” Bulma muttered waving his offer away. “It’s okay, dad will be back soon which means he will be gone soon.”  
Kakarot shrugged, he really didn’t understand women. The more he thought about it he was sure he just didn’t understand people because he never really picked up on social cues. He supposed though that the trip to where they were going would be plenty of time for him and Vegeta to spar. Far away from any distractions. Kakarot however was sure that the Prince would likely be the biggest distraction. Again the hot unsettling feeling found its way into his stomach. Kakarot still couldn’t decide if it were a good feeling or a bad one.   
“Oh. Hello.” The uncomfortable words came from the newly open doorway.  
Kakarot had not been paying attention so he did not hear them conclude their lesson. But he had felt the shift in the air when the door had opened. The prince was standing in the doorway looking very unsettled. Shooting his gaze back to Bulma, Kakarot could tell she was uncomfortable too. The way their eyes were locked on each other caused the feeling to bubble into something that felt close to anger. What was this feeling? He had never felt it before. Why are they looking at each other like that? Why was he asking himself these questions? Why did he care?   
“I have work to get back to.” Bulma said curtly before quickly walking away.  
Kakarot wanted to pry, but he decided it was better for everyone if he just brushed it off. Gohan seemed oblivious to the awkward encounter, so Kakarot chose to believe that the awkwardness was an act of his own imagination. But he could practically feel the relief in the air when Bulma was gone. Kakarot tried to brush it off, but he couldn’t help but feel like something had happened between the two.   
“Let’s go.” Vegeta muttered to Kakarot before he turned and headed in the opposite direction of where Bulma had headed.   
“Oh...yeah.” Kakarot responded before following him, reassuring himself that he was probably over thinking it.   
Gohan followed behind them as they headed out of the building. They walked for a few minutes before Vegeta stopped and turned back to the building, gauging the distance. It seemed Vegeta didn’t want to incur the wrath of Bulma again. Vegeta jerked his head to Gohan who nodded and went to sit against a tree a safe distance away. Something was different about Vegeta today he seemed more focused, more intense. Kakarot’s heart sped with anticipation.   
Vegeta’s assault began in an instant. He gave no warning and there was no inclination as he suddenly flew towards Kakarot. Kakarot was able to block the others fist, but only barely. The second blow caused Kakarot to stumble backwards leaving an opening. Vegeta followed up with a flurry of blows, landing them soundly against Kakarot’s stomach. Kakarot cringed but stood strong against the assault. It had been a long time since he had been this outmatched. But he was determined.   
Vegeta ended his assault and retreated, but Kakarot followed him much quicker than Vegeta had expected. Kakarot’s blow landed squarely in Vegeta’s jaw causing the prince to lose his footing. The next few blows Vegeta was able to block, but he had been unable to regain sure footing. As a result each blow was more and more effective at breaking his guard. One…two…three blows and Vegeta was knocked to the ground.   
Gohan watched as the two traded blows back and forth. The battle was ever changing, Vegeta was obviously stronger but his father kept catching the prince by surprise. They continued through the day, oblivious to time as it passed. They merely lived for the next strike, who would land it, where it would land, and how they would follow up. As Gohan observed he came to the conclusion that Vegeta was giving his father openings and seeing if he would take him. Vegeta was getting a feel for the others battle style. Full on offense was the approach Kakarot had taken when going head to head with Vegeta. He took every opportunity that he was given.  
As the sun sank behind Capsule Corps the two saiyjins faced each other, both attempting to catch their breath. Vegeta felt worn out, it had been a long time since training with someone had caused him to break a sweat, let alone felt like a full workout. Vegeta relaxed his stance, Kakarot got the hint and sunk to the ground crossing his legs and taking a minute to catch his breath. Gohan stood and approached the pair.  
“We missed lunch, and dinner.” Gohan mentioned as he joined them.  
“No wonder I’m so hungry.” Kakarot groaned gripping his stomach. “Maybe Bulma will make us food.”  
“I’ll go ask her.” Gohan offered before sprinting towards the building she was sure to be working in. He was hungry too, just watching the other two had exhausted worn him out.   
“So.” Kakarot said turning his attention to Vegeta as Gohan disappeared from sight. “Did something happen between you and Bulma?”  
“No.” Vegeta answered in seconds.   
Kakarot didn’t know the prince well, but he could tell Vegeta was lying. Something had happened, something Vegeta didn’t want to tell him. Kakarot decided it was best to drop it, and that it would be easier to get the answer out of Bulma.  
Bulma graciously made her friend dinner, but announced in distaste the fact that she had to feed Vegeta. Vegeta shot back that he would rather it raw intestines than her cooking, but he ate anyway. Kakarot tried to ignore the banter between the two, but it was nearly impossible they always seemed to have an insult to hurl at each other. But he stayed quiet. It was uncomfortable, but for the wrong reason. They were being rude to one another, but there did not seem to be ill will. It was almost as if they were flirting. The hole that had been in his stomach all day seemed to have engulfed it whole, he couldn’t seem to eat.   
After dinner Gohan quickly captured the prince’s attention again, which was fine with Kakarot, he had some investigating to do. Gohan and Vegeta found a spot in the grass and Vegeta began to tell him about the Legendary Super Saiyjin.   
“Hey want some help cleaning up?” Kakarot offered as he watched Bulma struggle with stacking plates.  
“Sure, but I usually don’t have to clean up Goku.” Bulma replied heatedly. “Usually when you come over all the food is gone. What the heck!”  
Kakarot cringed as she motioned to the mountain of food that still remained. She was right, usually Kakarot ate, but tonight he hadn’t touched a single bite, aside from moving it around on a plate in front of him. He responded with a shrug and an innocent smile before he took the stack of dishes out of her hands and headed inside. Bulma followed him to the kitchen with the remaining dishes allowing Kakarot his opportunity. Kakarot hopped up on to the counter as Bulma began to cover the remaining food with plastic wrap, complaining that it was a waste to have made so much food.  
“Hey just tell the Prince it’s in there and he will probably eat it.” Kakarot offered.  
“Yeah great, invite the freeloader to freeload more.” Bulma groaned rolling her eyes.  
“Hey, what happened between you guys?” Kakarot asked. “You really don’t seem to like him.”  
“N-nothing happened Goku!” Bulma growled as she continued to aggressively wrap plates.  
“I’ve known ya forever Bulma.” Kakarot pointed out. “You sure aren’t acting like nothing happened.”  
“Goku!” Bulma shouted. “It’s none of your business! Now shut up and get out of my kitchen.”  
“So something definitely happened then?” Kakarot responded crossing his arms, but not moving.   
“I SAID LEAVE!” Bulma shouted punching him in the shoulder.   
“Ok fine I’ll go.” Kakarot growled hopping off the counter and heading outside. 

Kakarot noticed Gohan and the prince immediately, but chose to leave them to their conversation. Instead he headed to the top of the building and watched as the moon rose into the sky. It was crazy to him that such a sight had once made him lose his mind. It had been the reason for the loss of the only thing even close to a parent he had. And yet in this moment it felt almost comforting. His mind and his feelings were in turmoil. Everything he had ever known had been thrown into disarray merely days ago. Anything he thought of himself was wrong now, because he knew nothing of who he should be, who he could be. He was a member of a warrior race that he knew nothing about. He supposed that was why he had always enjoyed fighting so much, why he had been so resilient, and why he was always quick to grow in power. But it didn’t explain the new feelings and thoughts that had captured him.   
Kakarot stared at the ever darkening sky in wonder. He wasn’t sure when he had become so familiar with it, but he recognized the groups of stars as they created pictures in the sky. Perhaps all the times he listened to Gohan and Chi-Chi name them off. The sky had been unchanging, as far back as he could remember. Always the same, no matter what wreaked havoc on the world below it there would always be a peace that remained, a place of solitude almost.  
“Did you fall asleep so early?” The Prince’s voice rang out next to him catching Kakarot off guard.  
“No!” Kakarot denied shaking his head and sitting up. “I was just thinking, you didn’t have to sneak up on me like that!”   
“I was hardly sneaking.” Vegeta scoffed. “I’ve been here for at least five minutes.”  
“Well you could have told me you were here!” Kakarot protested.  
“You know now.” Vegeta muttered sitting next to him.  
Silence stretched between them as they both stared at the sky gathering their thoughts. Kakarot couldn’t fathom what the Prince was thinking, but his own thoughts were all too consumed with the man next to him. Vegeta had appeared in an instant and changed everything. He had pushed Kakarot into an existential crisis and sent Bulma into a rage like Kakarot had never seen before.  
Vegeta’s thoughts weren’t far from Kakarots. He was stuck on the turmoil the younger Saiyjin had aroused in him, as well as the conflicting feelings he had surrounding Bulma. She was far too abrasive for his tastes, or that was what he had thought a day ago. But somehow last night had happened, and now that hung in the air any time they encountered each other.  
“Ya know, Chi-Chi is really mad at me for doin this. I just came back to life and now, I’m runnin off and risking my life again.” Kakarot muttered softly interrupting Vegeta’s chain of thought. “This was so much easier a year ago, it was so…peaceful.”  
Vegeta stared up at the sky for a moment longer and let the light from the stars sink in to him as he absorbed Kakarots words. Peace. What a concept. But was it achievable. With everything that was known about the history of the Saiyjin race, was it really something that someone could accomplish. He thought of the people on his home planet. They were such an advanced race, yet their very existence was monitored by an arrogant child. They weren’t even safe in their own homes. All of them were under surveillance constantly. The already low birthrate of his people had declined significantly due to the lack of privacy they were allowed. Their highly advanced tech was hidden away, their light speed ships all but forgotten. Frieza chose not to use them because he didn’t trust them. Viewed and treated them like they were animals even though they were a race whose intellect far outweighed that of the frost demons. But still, peace seemed unachievable for them.  
“Peace…” Vegeta spoke carefully as he chose his words. “Is not found in the life of a Saiyjin.”  
“If that’s the case, I’m not sure I wanna be a Saiyjin.” Kakarot responded with a groan before he lay back on the roof.   
“Well, after this you can pretend you aren’t.” Vegeta shrugged as he examined the younger man.  
Kakarot scoffed to himself. As if that were an option now, no Gohan was already far too interested in the Saiyjins for him to ever pretend he wasn’t one again. And as for Kakarot, he was far too interested in Vegeta for any of this to possibly slip his mind. This was only reinforced as the Prince joined him, laying only inches away.  
“These stars….” Vegeta said softly. “They are unfamiliar to me.”   
“How is that possible when you travel through them?” Kakarot asked, trying not to focus on how close the other was to him.  
“I definitely have seen these stars before.” Vegeta muttered. “But I couldn’t tell you which is which, and I have no idea where anything is. Thus, the sky is unfamiliar to me.”  
“Well….” Kakarot started before pointing towards a large star. “That’s the North Star, if you can spot it in the night sky you will always know which way is north.”  
“I never would have guessed that from the name.” Vegeta scoffed playfully.  
“And that one…” Kakarot grunted as he stabbed Vegeta with his elbow. “is the start of this constellation, the big dipper.”  
Vegeta chuckled as Kakarot continued to point out stars and trace constellations for him. He couldn’t deny the gesture left him feeling comforted. It allowed him to find some sort of foundation in the storm he had created for himself. It was probably the most peaceful experience of his life, and he was all too disappointed when it ended. 

“Stupid, annoying freeloader.” Bulma complained as she picked up the mess in the room Vegeta had been residing in the night before. “Some Prince, you’d think he’d be a little tidier than this.”  
“So, I hear that I am an annoying freeloader.” Vegeta chuckled from behind her as she muttered to herself.  
“Yeah you heard me!” Bulma growled, quite irritated that he had interrupted her ranting.   
“Please forgive my rudeness.” Vegeta responded in a reserved voice that only irritated Bulma more.  
“No.” Bulma shook her head aggressively. “There is no forgiveness for your behavior.”   
“There is absolutely nothing I can do to earn your forgiveness?” Vegeta asked drawing closer to her.   
Vegeta was really pushing his own limits. He hadn’t intended to approach her like this, not the night before either. But it was almost as though she drew him in. Once they were alone, he was inexplicably drawn to her. Even though she irritated the hell out of him, he couldn’t seem to remain level headed when she was around. Perhaps another Saiyjin curse, strong beings drew them in. While Bulma was not strong by any physical means, it was obvious she held a deep power within her, strength of character, strength of mind.   
“S-stop.” Bulma protested stepping further away from him. This was a path she didn’t want to go down.  
“Stop what?” Vegeta asked oblivious to just what kind of an aura he was giving off.  
“You know….” Bulma growled. At the same time, this was definitely a path she wanted to go down. If it would lead to anything like last night she would be more then content.  
“You still haven’t answered me.” Vegeta stepped closer leaving a breath of space between them. “Is there anything I can do to get you to forgive me for being a freeloader?”  
“You know….” Bulma whispered breathlessly.  
It wasn’t much of an answer, but it was all he needed to forget about repercussions. It was all he needed to get the constant thoughts of Kakarot to subside. She was a good distraction from the unfamiliar feelings that plagued him surrounding the other Saiyjin.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To space we go!

“Hey! Dr. Briefs is home!” Gohan’s declaration made Vegeta quite happy, but the disappointment in the young boy’s voice was evident.  
They had spent a lot of time together over the past week and the boy was going to be disappointed to see him go. But Vegeta was more than ready to get out of his current situation. He would be glad when he was no longer using Bulma as a coping mechanism for the unsettling feelings that Kakarot left him with every day. But then, without that he wasn’t sure how he was going to handle his feelings. Vegeta looked over at the sparring partner in question, and he seemed equally as pleased that Bulma’s father had returned. They ended their training and headed inside to meet the man.  
“Oh Goku! Bulma told me what’s going on and I can help you for sure.” The doctor was a man small in stature; he was thin and wore large glasses. It was obvious Bulma got her hair color from him though his was faded. He looked weary but also eager. He turned his gaze to Vegeta. “So you must be the Prince Bulma was telling me about. The cause of all of this excitement.”  
“Yes I suppose that is me. But I fear what your daughter may have told you.” Vegeta responded with a nod to the doctor. He truly wished that Bulma had not divulged the depth of their relationship as any interaction between the two of them ended today.   
Vegeta’s response made the doctor laugh but he didn’t give any inclination as to what Bulma may or may not have said. Vegeta chose not to worry about it. It wasn’t like it was going to affect him at all in the long run. He was leaving and if he was lucky he would never have to return to this planet. He let the doctor have his fun. But then, he seriously doubted that Bulma would share her sex life with her father.  
“Come on boys, I will show you the secrets of my ship!” The doctor offered waving for them to follow him down the hall.  
The design of the ship was simple enough for Vegeta to comprehend. It had a built in auto-pilot but he was sure even without it he would be able to navigate this ship to his home planet. Or rather the looming mass that rested over his home planet as a constant reminder that they were outmatched. The most interesting feature however was the ability to alter the gravity in the cabin of the ship. The doctor explained that he had tested it to be stable long term at up to 75 times earth’s gravity. It had the settings to go beyond but the doctor explained that he had yet to test it thus rendering anything higher unstable in his opinion.   
Excitement and a sense of impending doom filled the air. An odd combination to be sure but considering the event it was understandable. Vegeta spent the remainder of the day training with Kakarot, while Bulma’s father provided them with a nice array of refreshments and Bulma remained inside doing diagnostics on the machine. She had claimed that her father had to do it, but once he arrived she began them herself.   
Soon the night fell though and Kakarot left to say his farewells, he apparently had tons of people he had to tell he was leaving. Kakarot was definitely and unlikely Saiyjin. Most Saiyjins only made shallow, short lived connections. Much like the one Vegeta had formed with Bulma.   
Bulma, now she was on his mind ever nagging his every thought. However part of him felt as though a new sense of reason had formed with that, and a new level of emotion. Perhaps their bond wasn’t as shallow as he thought. Regardless though, she was the only person he had to say goodbye to.   
The sound of her door opening had woke Bulma as, much to her surprise, Vegeta entered her room. She hadn’t expected him to come to her tonight, in fact she hadn’t expected to ever see him again. They were leaving early in the morning and Bulma had decided she wasn’t going to watch them leave. The truth of their relationship hurt too much. They had been intimate with each other, both knowing that nothing more would come of it, but she hadn’t been properly prepared for it. Him leaving was going to hurt her. Vegeta climbed into her bed without a word and stared at the wall on the opposite side of the room. Not even sparing her a glance.  
“Who invited you?” Bulma growled. “It’s like two a.m. and I was sleeping.”  
“I’ll leave if you wish.” Vegeta responded in a delicate tone.  
“No.” Bulma responded as she sat up. “I was just joking.”  
“Okay.” One word was his only response. Bulma couldn’t quite pin him down. He was different than he had been before.  
Bulma turned on her bedside lamp and looked over at the Prince. It was obvious something was eating at him. Perhaps the same feelings that were eating at her, or perhaps feelings of his own that he was struggling with.   
“So you’re leaving tomorrow?” Bulma asked him softly breaking the silence that hung in the air.   
“In a few hours.” Vegeta responded with a nod.   
“Are you excited to head home?” Bulma asked, trying to get him to talk.  
“It’s not much of a home.” Vegeta muttered. “Not yet.”  
“But you’re gonna make it a home.” Bulma pointed out. “By defeating this Freiza guy and freeing your people.”  
“Yes.” Vegeta responded his tone far from convincing.  
“You okay?” Bulma asked leaning closer to him.   
Vegeta shrugged, he wasn’t sure if he was ok. Everything was eating at him and he felt alone in the universe. Soon he would attempt what could only be viewed as a suicide mission. Odds were that they would both die, no matter how prepared they were. He knew they would die, if he continued to think they would. Their demise would likely come at the hand of Vegeta’s on demeanor. He couldn’t go into it like this or he wouldn’t make it out.   
“Hey? What’s eating at you?” Bulma asked looking at him with a softness he was sure she had only ever shown him.  
“Are we…” Vegeta began furrowing his eyebrows in what appeared to be frustration, “friends?”  
When he finally asked his question it hung in the air for a minute. Bulma had not been expecting that kind of question from Vegeta. His tone was surprising as well, Bulma had gotten used to rude aggressive quips from him. Now his tone was softer, almost vulnerable. The situation itself was rather odd. They hadn’t really spoken about anything of value it had been hostile quips and then pure ecstasy as soon as he entered this bedroom. They hadn’t gotten to know one another. But he had come to her tonight. Now the young prince sat cross legged wrapped in one of her pink blankets. He looked almost childish compared to the stone faced Vegeta that had been sleeping in her house.   
“Yeah.” Bulma responded.  
Friends, an odd thing to be worried about at a time like this. Vegeta simply nodded. The look of anxiety he had displayed a moment before now appeared to be gone, but it was brief he seemed to begin thinking again almost moments later. These did not seem to be thoughts he was going to share, but she watched the internal battle struggle across his face. Bulma still couldn’t help but wonder why Vegeta was acting so impulsive, he didn’t seem like the impulsive type.  
“If I fail…” Vegeta began.  
“You’re not gonna fail.” Bulma cut him off, trying to cheer him up.  
“If I fail…” He began again ignoring her encouragement. “Will you remember good things about me?”  
“Heck no!” Bulma growled, not wanting to think of this Prince not making it out alive. “I’ll remember all of the mean things you said to me. I’ll remember you throwing my boyfriend out of my house the moment you appeared.”  
“Good.” Vegeta responded a small grin lighting his face. To him those were good things. But they were good things to her too.  
“But you’re not gonna fail.” Bulma responded again, this time her tone more serious. It was obvious that the survival of something inside her depended on his survival.  
“I wish I had as much confidence in myself as you do.” Vegeta said quietly.  
“You did a week ago.” Bulma pointed out.  
“A week ago this was all a week further in the future.” Vegeta answered.  
“Soon, it will all be a week in the past.” Bulma responded in a hushed tone. “Soon all the things you are worried about now will be handled and you will have your peace.”  
Vegeta nodded but couldn’t help but think of a past conversation with Kakarot, and suddenly he wasn’t sure he wanted to be a Saiyjin anymore. He wished he could simply run away to this planet and live at peace with these strange people. He was sure he could find a place here. Vegeta shot a glance at the woman next to him. In a different reality he was sure that she could be his peace. But here and now, it was impossible. He had a responsibility to his people, and an unhealthy interest in Kakarot. Vegeta decided he didn’t want to speak anymore so he lay down and pulled Bulma’s blanket over himself allowing himself to fall asleep in peace. Something he hadn’t done in a long time, something he hadn’t allowed himself to taste while on this planet.  
The morning came all to quickly for the prince’s liking. He laid in the soft bed and procrastinated for quite some time. He felt safe in this bed, he felt if he stayed in this bed he could live an easy life. He wouldn’t have to fight Frieza or eliminate his father. He wouldn’t have to lead a planet full of people if he just stayed asleep next to the soft woman beside him. A quick glance confirmed that she was both still there and still asleep. Vegeta watched her for a moment, sure he could spend his life looking at her. But he knew he had to leave. Vegeta slipped out of the bed, trying not to wake her, and made his way to the doorway. Looking back at her, as if to say his final goodbye.  
“Hey Vegeta?” Bulma asked softly as the door opened slightly, the light from the hallway rousing her from sleep.  
“Hey Bulma?” He answered stopping in his tracks. If she asked him to stay he would, that was all he would need to give into the weakness within him.  
“Don’t die, or I’ll kill you.” She growled before turning her back on him.  
“I won’t die.” He vowed before he slipped out the door and headed for the building that housed the ship they were to take.   
“You’re not gonna come back are you?” Gohan asked the Prince softly.  
“I have a planet of people who are going to need me.” Vegeta responded with a nod. It was enough of an answer for the young boy.  
“That’s a shame.” Gohan muttered softly but he seemed to accept the fact.   
“I won’t forget to send back those books for you.” Vegeta responded, this gaining him a smile from the boy and reviving some of his excitement.   
“You ready?” Kakarot asked as he approached the prince.   
Vegeta nodded to Kakarot but had to take one last look at the world that surrounded him. It wasn’t his home, and these weren’t his people but he still felt like he was leaving a part of himself behind with them. With Bulma and Gohan. A life he could have lived, friends and family he could have had. But his people deserved this type of peace and it was his responsibility to give this to them. Maybe one day he would find a Saiyjin like Bulma and they could have a son like Gohan, but for now he needed to focus on the mission at hand. Vegeta said one last goodbye to the him that he was leaving behind before he actually entered the ship.   
The doctor was making a few last minute adjustments when they entered. Vegeta gave him the co-ordinates for where the ship was headed and within moments the auto-pilot was set and the doctor was leaving the ship. The hatch closed behind him and the ship began to lift into the air, taking them far from the people and far from the planet that Kakarot knew as home. His heart ached as he watched it disappear into the distance.   
“Hey!” Vegeta shouted snapping Kakarot to attention. He could tell that the other was growing sad.  
“What?” Kakarot asked trying to keep the sadness at bay.  
“Let’s fight. Best time to start is immediately right?” Vegeta asked as he walked to the panel that controlled the gravity inside the ship.  
“Yeah let’s do that.” Kakarot muttered shaking the disruptive thoughts out of his head. “So you said that ten times earth’s gravity feels like planet Vegeta?”   
“Yeah.” Vegeta nodded.  
“Allright let’s do fifteen and see how we do!” Kakarot said growing excited.  
“All right.” Vegeta agreed quickly changing the settings. The gravity wore at them both making it difficult to move at all.   
They began with warm-ups in order to get used to the gravity. But the push-ups and the sit-ups in fifteen times earth’s gravity wore them out in much the same way that fighting had done before. The ship was going to be a lot more useful than Vegeta had originally anticipated. With this he was sure they would be able to defeat Frieza.   
“Hey Prince?” Kakarot asked, breaking Vegeta out of the mental auto-pilot he had been in since their early morning training.   
“What?” Vegeta growled, more upset at himself for allowing Kakarot to surprise him.  
“You’re sending books back for Gohan right?” Kakarot asked shifting in his seat to face the other.   
“I was planning on it.” Vegeta answered, confused as to why it mattered or why Kakarot even seemed to care.  
“Well, they are all in the Saiyjin language aren’t they?” Kakarot responded. Vegeta nodded slowly not quite understanding at first. “Well Gohan doesn’t know that language.”  
“Oh.” Vegeta muttered, suddenly realizing his mistake. Of course the boy wouldn’t be able to read a language he had never encountered. Vegeta cursed.  
“How is he supposed to read them?” Kakarot asked, but there was more behind the question than what he had said.  
“I don’t know dammit.” Vegeta growled, ashamed at his foolishness.  
“Do ya think you could teach me the language?” Kakarot asked after a moment. “So then I could teach him.”  
“You know.” Vegeta muttered. “That’s actually a pretty solid idea. I didn’t think you had that much common sense.”  
“Hey!” Kakarot growled standing up. “I obviously had more than you! I figured it out before you. You were just gonna send him books he couldn’t read.”  
Vegeta chuckled and shook his head. He was of course only poking fun at the other, and Kakarot’s reaction was priceless.   
“When should I teach you this?” Vegeta asked. The other behaved as if they had all the time in the world.  
“Well, when we are too tired to train or spar then we could train our brains.” Kakarot responded with a wink obviously twisting the words Vegeta had used with him almost a week before.   
“Fine.” Vegeta muttered pulling himself into a sitting position on the bed before motioning the other over.   
Vegeta grabbed a pencil and a pad of paper that had been stored in the drawer above the bed and placed it in his crossed legs as Kakarot took a seat next to him. He quickly wrote a message out in Saiyjin and handed it to Kakarot.  
“I can’t read this!” Kakarot protested.  
“I know. But don’t worry you should be able to by the time we get to our destination. Now, let’s start with the most basic phrases…” Vegeta began as he wrote much shorter and simpler words out on the blank page in front of him.  
Together the two spent hours poring over Vegeta’s writings as Vegeta taught Kakarot their native language. After a few hours Vegeta noticed that Kakarot was no longer participating in the lesson.  
“Are you even paying attention….” Vegeta muttered looking over at the other. As it turned out Kakarot was paying no attention. He had fallen asleep slumped against the wall in the most uncomfortable looking manner.   
Vegeta shook his head but couldn’t seem to rip his gaze away from the sleeping man. The unfamiliar feelings began to well up in his stomach again, but he no longer had a distraction to extinguish these flames. But he couldn’t allow them to linger or they just might consume him. Vegeta stood, returning the pen and the pad to where he had acquired them before deciding that training was the only way to keep his mind off the other Saiyjin. Vegeta spent the evening training in Kakarot’s own style, tons of push-ups and sit-ups. Going until his body was numb from the work. But the fire remained, burning deep into the night and leaving Vegeta feeling charred by morning.   
“I have to make a call.” Vegeta muttered before he placed a pair of headphones on and began to mess with the knobs in front of him.  
“Well what am I supposed to do?” Kakarot asked frustrated.  
“Go practice reading or something, I don’t care. Just leave me alone.” Vegeta growled. “But be quiet so that I can hear.”  
Kakarot rolled his eyes but headed over to the bed and began to read the paper Vegeta had wrote for him the night before. He could differentiate the words by memory so instead he studied the alphabet at the top in hopes that if he could spell the words he could understand them better.   
Vegeta waited for the other Saiyjin to go silent before he began to speak into the radio in a hushed tone.  
“Hey are you on?” Vegeta asked into the microphone.  
“Fuck, I’ve been waiting like three weeks to hear that voice. Where the hell did you go man?” A muffled voice responded. Vegeta could hear clamoring in the background as well as feedback from the others microphone that Vegeta assumed was caused by plugging the headset in suddenly.  
“I’ve been busy.” Vegeta muttered.  
“Doin what for three weeks!” The low voice demanded.  
“I was sent to investigate a death.” Vegeta responded.  
“Oh yeah how’d that go?” The other seemed to be more relaxed now.  
“He wasn’t dead.” Vegeta answered blandly.  
“Did ya kill him?” The other laughed.  
“Unfortunately no.” Vegeta growled.   
“So what are you doing now? Running back to lick Frieza’s heels?” The question caused Vegeta to tense, but then he smiled to himself.  
“No, in fact quite the opposite.” Vegeta answered.  
“Oh!” The other exclaimed. “What can I do?”  
“I don’t know yet. I’ll keep you updated.” Vegeta muttered.  
“What? Signing off already?”   
“I have things to do.” Vegeta responded   
“Live long!” The other shouted before Vegeta switched off his radio.


	7. Chapter 7

Kakarot really wasn’t the type to eavesdrop, but for some reason he was a completely different person when it came to Vegeta. Kakarot listened quite intensely to the conversation, but only hearing one side he was left fairly confused. Vegeta sounded like a different person when he was talking over the radio. He seemed to be joking, and there was happiness in his eyes. But perhaps Kakarot was imagining it. Regardless his stomach lit up again, much like it had when he had seen Bulma and Vegeta interact. But Vegeta’s interaction with the stranger was different; it seemed fairly deep regardless of how short Vegeta’s questions and responses were. There was a level of comfort Vegeta had with this individual that Kakarot had yet to see. Considering they had only known each other for a little over a week it really shouldn’t be a surprise. But he wasn’t sure he liked it, and it was less about how Vegeta interacted with the stranger, and more about how Kakarot longed for Vegeta to be that comfortable with him. Though, he wasn’t sure why he wanted that so bad.   
Vegeta ended his conversation and Kakarot quickly turned his attention to the papers in front of him so as to look like his attention was anywhere but on Vegeta. Everything on the page looked jumbled and foreign to him. Perhaps if he had been paying attention to what Vegeta had been trying to teach him, instead of the way Vegeta’s voice reverberated through his body, he would have learned something. Kakarot squinted in dismay, he would never be able to teach Gohan to this language if he didn’t know it.

“Hey.” Vegeta muttered, freeing Kakarot from his thoughts.   
Vegeta was standing only a few feet from the bed. Kakarot was surprised that he hadn’t realized Vegeta was there. Perhaps trying so hard to pretend he wasn’t paying attention had dulled his senses. Usually Kakarot was fairly aware of where everyone was in a room, even if he wasn’t paying attention to them. He had felt this was even more so when it came to Vegeta, except he was always paying attention to the Prince.   
“Let’s train.” Vegeta muttered before stepping away from the bed towards the center of the room.  
“Yeah!” Kakarot exclaimed jumping to his feet. “Now you’re talking.”  
Vegeta activated the gravity, neither of them had been able to move very well at this gravity yesterday, but apparently they had become used to it because they now felt ready to fight. Kakarot wasn’t getting jumped this time, he made the first move. In a split second he darted towards Vegeta. But Vegeta was quicker and managed to block Kakarot’s first blow.  
“Be sure to pull your punches, this is for training purposes we don’t want to accidentally blow a hole in the ship.” Vegeta instructed before grabbing Kakarot’s wrist with one hand and landing a decisive blow in Kakarot’s stomach.  
Kakarot stumbled back gripping his stomach. “Yeah….” He muttered painfully. “I’ll be careful.”  
Vegeta nodded before closing the gap between the two of them and assaulting Kakarot with a flurry of punches, most of which Kakarot was able to block. Vegeta managed to hit him directly in the jaw sending him stumbling backwards. The increased gravity made the battle difficult for both of them leaving them on almost an even playing field. They traded blows for a while in silence. Both seemed solely focused on the fight. As time went on the gap between them grew however, and Vegeta was soon over powering Kakarot.   
“You’re holding back on me a lot.” Kakarot groaned after recovering from a rough blow. “How am I supposed to get stronger if you aren’t putting up a fight?”  
“I don’t want you dying before we face Freiza.” Vegeta laughed.   
“Yeah, but if I don’t get any stronger then I won’t be any help to you.” Kakarot protested adamantly.   
“Fine.” Vegeta muttered. “If you can hit me I will fight you with everything I have.”  
“Sounds like a good plan.” Kakarot agreed with a nod before shooting towards Vegeta once more.   
Vegeta was much faster this time, dodging punches he would have blocked before. He wasn’t allowing Kakarot to ever completely close the distance between them. Vegeta was quick but if Kakarot got close enough one of his wild swings was sure to land. Vegeta could tell that Kakarot had a lot to learn. Vegeta was sure a lot of Kakarot’s battles had been won by Kakarot simply being stronger, faster, and probably more durable than any of the enemies he had encountered. That was why he had trouble with Raditz. Raditz was a Saiyjin, albeit a weak one, but a Saiyjin none the less. He was not as easy for Kakarot to take down as a human was. Kakarot had no art to his fighting, he simply seemed to dive into it with everything he had without thinking. No plan, no strategy, he left himself open far too often betting on his ability to outlast his opponent.   
“So…” Kakarot started as he missed Vegeta once again. “What was that story you were telling Gohan? Something about a legendary warrior?”  
“Ah, you mean about the Legendary Super Saiyjin?” Vegeta asked as he easily avoided another blow.  
“Yeah that.” Kakarot responded, silence bored him and he couldn’t fight well if he wasn’t all fired up.  
“I’ll tell you when we are done training.” Vegeta said with a grin. “Now stop holding back.”  
In an instant Vegeta was in front of him and landed a powerful blow to his stomach sending him crashing into the bed. Luckily the ship was more durable than it appeared and nothing looked any worse for the wear.   
“Don’t get too cocky!” Kakarot shouted flying back at him, much more aggressive than before.   
“That’s it.” Vegeta smiled. As he barely avoided Kakarot. “Give me everything you’ve got!”

“Ok.” Kakarot groaned dropping to the bed as Vegeta turned the gravity down. “Now tell me about this Super Saiyjin.”  
“The legendary Super Saiyjin.” Vegeta muttered joining the other on the bed and relaxing into it, it was probably the most comfortable place on the ship. Vegeta still didn’t understand why there was only one.   
“Yeah that.” Kakarot said before relaxing next to Vegeta.   
“Well legend tells us of a man named Yamoshi. Over a thousand years ago the Saiyjin race lived on a planet known to us as Sadala. It was a rich planet and it allowed for us to live in peace, far removed from the violence of the universe. However violence still managed to find our people.” As Vegeta began to unravel the story Kakarot closed his eyes allowing his imagination to create the scene in front of him. “The violence however came from within. Saiyjins are a powerful people and without a way to challenge themselves restlessness took hold of our souls. Thus began an age of death. Instead of uniting under one king the Saiyjins became at war with one another. Millions of people died. Our population dropped drastically into the thousands. It was at this time Yamoshi gathered with what was left of his brethren and they decided to join the fight, hoping to put an end to the senseless violence. In the midst of the battle Yamoshi transformed into a great golden beast. It is rumored that his power demolished the planet which led to us having to inhabit what is now Planet Vegeta. Nobody knows what happened to him after the battle, all that is known is that none of the six righteous fighters that accompanied him made it to Planet Vegeta, and neither did he. But it is known that it was not considered a victorious day for them. The evil that tainted the Saiyjin race is what led us to the situation we are in today. It led us to being ruled over by that bastard Frieza.”   
A soft snore interrupted Vegeta as he droned on. His story seemed to have put Kakarot to sleep. Vegeta looked at the man envious. Sleep escaped him on this voyage yet Kakarot was immune to the stress that radiated off of him and was able to find peace even in the heaviest of moments. Vegeta smirked. This man was truly unique in many ways but it seemed he played every advantage life offered him. Vegeta relaxed into the bed and stared at the ceiling above him, his thoughts going wild. He was restless but crawling over Kakarot to leave the bed would likely wake the other so this night he spent allowing his mind to run with any possibility it could form.  
“Are we there yet?” Kakarot groaned, obviously getting fed up with the cramped space.   
“No.” Vegeta growled relaxing back into the pilot’s seat.  
“We’ve been in here forever!” Kakarot exclaimed.  
“It’s been a week.” Vegeta responded coldly.  
“It feels like forever.” Kakarot whined as he sunk into the seat next to Vegeta.  
It had only been a week, but it had been a long one. A week worth of constant training and teaching a reluctant Kakarot to read had worn them both down. It didn’t help that sleep seemed impossibly out of reach for Vegeta and being tired definitely didn’t help Vegeta’s temper. Kakarot was much more annoying when Vegeta was tired.   
“How long until we get there?” Kakarot asked visibly put off by Vegeta’s coldness towards him. In the short time he had known Vegeta he hadn’t experienced this firsthand, he had seen it displayed in Vegeta’s attitude towards Raditz. But perhaps that was why it irritated him, Vegeta was definitely not fond of Raditz and something in Kakarot grew cold at the idea that Vegeta didn’t like him much either.   
“Well, it took me two weeks to get to earth, and this ship is running about half the speed so I would say we have about three weeks to go.” Vegeta answered placing his feet on the dashboard and leaning back in his chair.   
“Three more weeks of this sounds like hell.” Kakarot muttered.  
Vegeta couldn’t agree more. He was in hell. But he wasn’t sure if he was the Devil or if it was Kakarot. Vegeta had been graced with about eight hours of free time every evening for the last week and had spent it all lost within his own mind. Vegeta didn’t know if he was always this stuck in himself or if it was a side effect of Kakarot. He chose to blame Kakarot, since every thought that consumed him involved the other Saiyjin. Even now his sleep deprived brain was manifesting very depraved thoughts about the Saiyjin next to him. The other didn’t speak again so Vegeta figured fuck it, he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to play without his interference. What was the worst that could happen?  
Kakarot sat in silence for a moment before realizing that Vegeta had actually gone to sleep in his chair. Perhaps he should go practice lessons Vegeta had taken the time to write out for him. Kakarot had never been good at studying so the idea was instantly unpleasant. No he preferred hands on learning, and watching Vegeta sleep he couldn’t help but think that hands on learning was the most pleasant idea he had experienced in a while. Kakarot shook his head violently at the thought before leaning back to stare at the ceiling. The thoughts that were running through his head made him uncomfortably hot. He had never thought it possible to have these thoughts about anyone but Chi-Chi. And he would never have imagined having these thoughts about another man.   
Almost as if to make it worse he could hear Vegeta breathing in the quiet confines of the ship cabin, and simply hearing that made it worse. He listened as Vegeta’s breathing picked up tempo and unconsciously matched it. Within minutes his heart was speeding and he felt light headed, making it all that much easier to delve into the sinful thoughts again. Vegeta made a groan, which could only be described as lustful, snapping Kakarot away from his thoughts. Kakarot glanced at the other, who was still very much asleep. His face was flushed and he had an odd expression upon it. Sweat seemed to be beading on his forehead as he let out another groan and shifting uncomfortably in his seat. It was now that Kakarot took a moment to fully examine the others body. He could see the other’s muscles through his tight clothing, every cut of him was visible. He was a small man but there was no doubt about the strength he held within him. Kakarot hesitated his gaze of Vegeta’s chest before allowing his eyes to wander further down the other Sayijin’s body. If Kakarot had not already guessed what the other was thinking about, what lay or rather stood in Vegeta’s lap answered the question for him.  
But what exactly could Vegeta be thinking about that would cause his body to have this violent of a reaction in sleep. Was he dreaming about a wife he had somewhere? Or Bulma? The thought caused his blood to boil as he realized the secret that they had both kept from him. They had to have had relations and both of them had denied any involvement with the other.   
“Kakarot…” Vegeta muttered before shifting uncomfortably again and then letting out another low moan.  
“What?” Kakarot asked loudly enough to wake the other.  
“What?” Vegeta snapped sitting up quickly and glaring at the other.  
“Sorry I thought you said something.” Kakarot defended quickly.  
“No.” Vegeta growled. “I was asleep why would I say anything.”  
“I dunno. I thought you said my name.” Kakarot said with a shrug.  
“Maybe because I was dreaming about murdering you.” Vegeta muttered.  
“Really?” Kakarot asked skeptical glance to Vegeta’s crotch. “So the idea of murdering me gives you a hard on?”  
“A raging boner.” Vegeta growled, embarrassed as he himself had not noticed it at first.   
With these words Vegeta stood and quickly headed to the attached restroom to douse himself in cold water and try to shake of the very explicit dream he had been having about Kakarot before the idiot had interrupted him. This only reassured him that he could not trust himself to sleep around the other. It would only lead to embarssment.

“Fuck.” Vegeta growled slamming his fist into the wall.  
He should have known falling asleep was a bad idea. No he knew falling asleep was a bad idea and he had done it anyway. He should have stayed more aware, now he was resigned to hiding in the bathroom far too embarrassed to come out. Vegeta had taken Kakarot as naïve but it appeared he was the one acting such. Kakarot was far more aware than Vegeta had given him credit for. He should not have set his expectations so low.  
With a groan Vegeta slipped down to the floor with his back against the door cradling his head. How was he supposed to face Kakarot now? He wasn’t aware of what the customs on earth however on planet Vegeta to have these feelings towards someone of the same gender would be frowned upon. Especially as a member of the royal family. Perhaps if he waited long enough Kakarot would forget, or at least leave it alone. 

Kakarot lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, wondering how long Vegeta planned on being in the restroom. Kakarot didn’t have very much experience when it came to sexual desire, and he had no experience when it came to men. He was married to Chi-Chi and had only ever been with her. But even with Chi-Chi he had never felt so bothered. Vegeta was simply another experience all together.   
Kakarot wasn’t sure how much time had passed between Vegeta storming into the restroom and the door opening as Vegeta came back out. Kakarot shifted into a sitting position as the other exited the bathroom, his eyes locked on the prince.   
“What?” Vegeta growled noticeably irritated at Kakarot.   
“Honestly though. What was that all about?” Kakarot asked.  
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Vegeta answered looking away from Kakarot and heading towards the controls.  
“You don’t have to lie to me.” Kakarot responded standing from the bed and drawing closer to Vegeta.  
“I’m not lying. Now let it go.” Vegeta growled trying to avoid meeting Kakarot’s gaze as he headed towards the pilot seat.   
Kakarot paused for a moment as Vegeta took a seat with his back towards Kakarot. Kakarot didn’t understand the prince at all. It was obvious from Vegeta’s actions that he was interested in him. So why was he holding back? Any time Kakarot had wanted something he had gone for it. But Vegeta was easily denying himself something he wanted. It didn’t make sense. If Bulma was here she would be able to explain it to him. Perhaps it had something to do with what other people expected. But why did other people matter when it is something that didn’t affect them?   
Kakarot decided it was better to not worry about it. He usually didn’t put much deep thought into his actions and now wasn’t the time to start. Instead Kakarot made his way up behind Vegeta. Kakarot placed his hands on the seat forcing it to lean backwards causing Vegeta to look up at him.  
“What…” Vegeta began before Kakarot quickly silenced him with his lips. They stayed connected for just a second before Kakarot pulled away.  
“Ok Prince.” Kakarot stated to a dumbfounded Vegeta. “I’ll leave it alone. Now let’s go train.”  
The days melted together into what felt like one long uncomfortable day. Both parties had been riled up about the kiss for their own reasons. Kakarot was upset that he had been unable to make any headway with the prince. Vegeta couldn’t get the memory of Kakarot kissing him out of his mind. He tried to bury it beneath intense training, but he was was with Kakarot so the thought was never far off. When night came they both laid awake far too aware of each other.   
Tonight they were both worn out from the mental battle they were putting themselves through.  
“Are we there yet?” Kakarot asked as he stared into the darkness.  
“No.” Vegeta muttered, oh how he wished they were there already. At this point he would welcome death by Freiza’s hands if it meant getting away from Kakarot.   
“How much longer?” Kakarot asked, he too wanted this to be over.   
“Probably only a day or two.” Vegeta answered.   
“Two more days….” Kakarot muttered.  
He wanted this trip to end, he wanted to stop enduring Vegeta’s company. But he also wanted it to last longer. He wanted the chance to grow closer to Vegeta. Everything about the prince fascinated him. His strength and his wit as well as his self-control. Vegeta was insanely rational even in the most intense moments. He wanted to understand more about the Prince and what gave him his power.   
“Move.” Vegeta muttered urging the other to move his legs so that Vegeta could exit the bed.   
Kakarot complied allowing the prince room. Kakarot stood as well as the lights flipped on around them. Vegeta walked to the command station to check their location. They were actually much closer than he anticipated. At this point it was hours until they were there not days.  
“It seems we have less time than I thought.” Vegeta said turning back to Kakarot.   
“So then we don’t have two days?” Kakarot asked furrowing his brow as he reached the Prince’s side.  
“No we have more like four hours.” Vegeta muttered.   
“Oh.” Kakarot muttered looking troubled.   
“Come on.” Vegeta said as he walked towards the wall panel that controlled the gravity. “Let’s warm up for the fight ahead.  
Kakarot followed him for a moment, still surprised at the sudden lack of time they had together. He didn’t want it to end. He didn’t want to die without getting a chance to experience Vegeta. Kakarot followed him before reaching beyond Vegeta to close the panel.  
“No.” Kakarot growled backing Vegeta against the wall with his imposing figure.   
“What do you want?” Vegeta growled, embarrassed that he was allowing this man to affect him so much.   
“I want you to stop lying to yourself…and me.” Kakarot responded placing one hand on either side of Vegeta’s head, his eyes boring into Vegeta.  
“What?” Vegeta scoffed trying to avert his gaze. Kakarot quickly cupped Vegeta’s cheek forcing his gaze back.  
“Stop pretending you don’t want this.” Kakarot growled closing the gap between their bodies. “It’s been almost a month, aren’t you tired of fighting it?”  
“I’m not fighting anything.” Vegeta disagreed. However the closeness of Kakarot’s body caused him to falter only further securing Kakarot’s accusation.   
“You say that…” Kakarot began, “But those are just words. And your body tells me different.”  
“Shut up.” Vegeta growled, his face growing red.  
“No.” Kakarot argued leaning his face close to Vegeta’s. “You say we have four hours. That means in five hours one of us might be dead. Do you really want to die without enjoying the opportunities that are right in front of your face?”  
“If those opportunities are you then y..yes.” Vegeta spat back, but his words faltered near the end.   
“Stop lying.” Kakarot growled.  
“I’m not!” Vegeta protested.  
“Shut up.” Kakarot muttered before sealing Vegeta’s lips with his own.  
Kakarot expected an immediate struggle but the Prince froze. Kakarot deepened the kiss hoping for some sort of reaction, even if it was a violent one. Vegeta’s actual reaction was much more than Kakarot had hoped for. It was almost as if the Prince melted under the kiss. Slowly Vegeta’s lips became more welcoming before actually participating in the kiss. Vegeta’s body grew more relaxed as seconds passed. Kakarot ran his hands down Vegeta before digging his fingers into the Prince’s hips and pulling him closer. Vegeta ran his hands up Kakarot’s chest placing them hesitantly on his shoulders. Kakarot took the touch as encouragement and pressed Vegeta against the wall. Vegeta was able to gain leverage and used it to shove the other Saiyjin away breaking the kiss and creating a gap between them.  
“Regardless of what either of us wants right now,” Vegeta began, fire burning in his eyes. “We don’t have time for this. We don’t have time for games or pleasure. In four hours we have to be prepared to fight and for that we need to have clear heads.”  
“That’s not fair.” Kakarot growled clenching his fists.  
“It’s not about what is or is not fair. Right now there are two options. Train with me, or go get some sleep.” Vegeta declared.  
“Fine.” Kakarot conceded. “Let’s train.”

By the end of the training session both Saiyjins were covered in sweat and ready for an actual battle. The training had been nice but neither of them had an actually fight for quite some time now and their Saiyjin blood was calling out for the battlefield. Vegeta sat in the pilot seat and checked their coordinates.  
“So what are we looking at as far as man power?” Kakarot asked drawing close to him.

“That ship is full of thousands of soldiers.” Vegeta muttered as he flipped off the auto pilot and gained control of their craft.  
“So what’s the plan then?” Kakarot asked as Vegeta slowed the ship to a stop as the much larger base came into view.   
“Take out everyone who stands in our way.” Vegeta muttered. “Cut ourselves a path to Frieza and take him down.”  
“Aren’t there Saiyjins on that ship?” Kakarot asked turning his attention to the Prince. “What if they stand in our way? Are we supposed to take down our own people?”  
Vegeta stared off into the distance for a moment; Kakarot could practically see his mind working. He had to find a solution he didn’t want any of his people to die today, much less at his own hand. Finally something connected in his brain.   
“I have to make a call.” Vegeta announced quickly turning on the system in front of him and donning the headphones. “Hey wake up.”   
“I am awake, why you gotta be so mean?” The voice responded, but he definitely sounded like he had just woken up.  
“How far out are you?” Vegeta asked, ignoring the question.  
“Not far at all, in fact I can see you.” The other laughed.  
“Good, I need you to send a message to Frieza.” Vegeta demanded.   
“What? Are you crazy?”  
“You said you wanted to help.” Vegeta growled.  
“Yes…but what is it supposed to say?”  
“The kings long lost son has returned, all of the Saiyjins are summoned back for this celebration.” Vegeta answered.  
“But it will take months for everyone to get home?”  
“We don’t need everyone home, we just need every Saiyjin off that ship.” Vegeta explained.  
“Oh! Ok. This makes sense!” The other exclaimed. “I’ll get right on that. Live long!”  
With those words the other disconnected. They waited, for what felt like forever. Perhaps it was simply the adrenaline of the hour that caused the seconds to feel like minutes. They watched the ship closely in this time just waiting for someone to leave.   
“Hey Prince.” Kakarot muttered.  
“Yeah?” Vegeta asked still focused on the ship.  
“What if this doesn’t work?”   
“Don’t talk like that now Idiot.” Vegeta growled back. “This has to work.”  
“But what if it doesn’t? Nobody is leaving that ship.” Kakarot pointed out.  
“Well I don’t fucking know then.” Vegeta snapped back glaring at Kakarot.  
“Wait look.” Kakarot muttered pointing at the windshield Vegeta had taken his eyes off of.   
“There’s a few ship. Six it looks like. There has to be more than six Sayijins on that ship.” Kakarot muttered.   
“Fuck.” Vegeta cursed as he began to realize what was about to begin.  
“What?” Kakarot asked anxiously as Vegeta quickly began to accelerate.  
“Frieza is taking a team to investigate the message. As soon as he realizes that my father sent no such message, he is going to figure us out. And likely kill everyone on that planet. We have to act quickly.” Vegeta explained.   
“Can I help?” Kakarot asked relaxing a little but still anxious for the coming battle. But this was an anxious that didn’t make him uncomfortable.   
“Yeah.” Vegeta muttered before releasing the wheel. “Just steer us to follow their path. I will take back over shortly.   
Kakarot took the pilot seat as Vegeta donned the headset once again obviously trying to reach the same person he had just been in contact with. But he seemed to have no luck as he tried for a minute before cursing and throwing the headset.   
“We have to land before them.” Vegeta muttered. “They are going to land at the Palace. We have to land further away and get there before them. Or at least shortly after.”  
Vegeta took the seat back before accelerating the ship sending them hurtling towards the planet. Kakarot gripped his chair tightly unsure if they could land safely if they entered at this speed. Well, they were about to find out. The ship shook violently as they entered the atmosphere but Vegeta did not appear fazed at all.


End file.
